New Addition!

Everyone, welcome the newest member of the Adams household!
It became official three hours ago. She doesn't have a name, yet, but Jimi is pleased to share the title "Most Fashionable Dachshund" with his new sister. This rescue pup is only four months old, and she's as sweet and as cute as can be!

UPDATE: I think we've decided to name her June (after June Carter Cash). June + Jimi!

What not to wear: the pregnancy edition

Hi! Sorry for my absence. I've missed you! I thought I was just tired and recovering from Austin Fashion Week last week, but it turns out my thyroid levels dipped a little low (I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis). No worries, though! I went to the doctor this morning and got a little adjustment in my medicines, and I should be back to 100% tomorrow!

After my doctor's appointment, I went to Walmart to get my oil changed. I had an hour to kill, so I thought I'd show you some things that I've found do not work for a pregnant body. Laugh and enjoy!

Don't tell me to just move up a size.
A- Rompers don't come in "maternity", and
B- This is a size large.


Classy, Adams. Real classy. Makes you wonder, "Is that how she got pregnant in the first place?"


I know that maternity pants (and pants in general) are hard to keep up and around a gestating womb, but nothing makes a pregnant body suddenly look like an old man's beer gut body like suspenders.


Non-maternity button up shirts may seem harmless at first...

but then one of your co-workers loses an eye due to a projectile button off your shirt.


You thought the combo of maternity pants and suspenders was bad? Obviously you have never seen the combo of maternity pants with a body suit. Um, just because you can squeeze into it doesn't mean you should wear it. Yikes!

Just for your peace of mind, please know that I do not usually sport outfits such as those above. No, sirree. Lately I've been in the tried and true combo of empire waist cotton dresses and sandals. Boring, yes, but at least I don't look like a nut case (or a cased sausage!):

date: 26 August 2010
occasion: running errands
dress: Liz Lange Maternity (Target)
sandals: Target, like five years ago

Is there anything else that pregnant women shouldn't attempt to wear?

Austin Fashion Week Award Winners

Last night was the Austin Fashion Week Awards Show. I was happy to be feeling well enough to attend. I opted to skip the red carpet, though. It was 105º (holy cow!) and I was already sweating like crazy in the car ride over. I am so glad I wore cotton jersey knit!
I made sure to get a snapshot on the red carpet after the awards show, though. I did end up wearing the ModCloth dress y'all picked out for me, and I felt a little like pregnant Angelina Jolie in it!
When I first got the dress, I was 90% sure I was going to return it. I ordered a size large, but it was incredibly unflattering on me. The top was way too tight and the bottom showed every roll and the shape of my belly button. I freaked out and said as much on Twitter, but ModCloth was so sweet. They tweeted me about their great rush exchange policy where you can have them ship out a replacement item before your return even hits the road. Cool, huh? (Excellent customer service, y'all!)

Anyway, I didn't really find any other options for comfortable, affordable evening wear, but luckily after adding a slip and forgoing the brassier entirely, I was able to shoehorn myself into the ModCloth dress. That just goes to show you how the right undergarments can make all the difference! However, I can't wait to see what it looks like on my non-pregnant body next summer!

I never know how pregnant I look until I see my self-style photos! WHOA! Big lady!


I got a new animal ring. Isn't he cute?


I donned some pretty ridonculous, thick fake eyelashes. Nothing makes you feel as glamorous as fake eyelashes!

date: 21 August 2010
occasion: Austin Fashion Week awards show
dress: ModCloth
sandals: thrifted, Savers
bag: vintage, won in a drawing on Grace's Birdcage
earrings and turtle ring: Target
peach cocktail ring: Charlotte Ruse
bracelets: Ten Thousand Villages

I want to thank Kristen Chen at Wyatt Brand for giving me an all-access media pass to the kick-off event and awards show. I sincerely appreciate that Adored Austin is seen as a legit style and Austin fashion happenings blog. Again, I had a nice seat, and I was able to grab some footage from the runway portion of the awards show. Watch to see fashion by Boudoir Queen, René Geneva, Celestino, Chloe Dao (Project Runway season two winner), Line & Dot, and Betsey Johnson:

[music by Zayra and Speak, who performed live]

Tidbits from the video:

• The first model is well known milliner Laurel St. Romain wearing (what I think is) one of her own designs.
• The second model is Kathleen Carmichael, who is one of my favorite models in Austin. She just did the latest lookbook for BuyDefinition.
• The second designer, René Geneva, won critics' choice award for best designer at last year's Austin Fashion Week awards.
• Zayra, who performed during the first half of the runway presentation, was on the reality tv show Rockstar: Supernova.
  
• Speaking of reality tv shows, the stunning girl who does the finale dresses for Celestino and Betsey Johnson is America's Next Top Model (cycle 14) winner Krista White.
• The band Speak, who performed live during the second half of the fashion presentation, just jumped to near the top of the list of my favorite Austin bands. I just bought their EP Hear Here and it's super!
  

Honestly, I'm still synthesizing a lot of my thoughts about Austin Fashion Week as a whole, so expect a fully fleshed out (more serious journalistic) piece on it within the week. I had a nice time at the events, and I appreciate all the hard work and talent that went into it. A ton of Golden Boots were given out, and I've listed all of the winners and linked all of their webpages after the jump:

Hi, guys!

I'm nursing a sore throat again today. Who the heck gets a sore throat in the middle of summer?! I will post later tonight when I'm feeling a little better. I hope to feel well enough to head out to more Austin Fashion Week fun tonight. For now? I'm going back to bed.

But in the meantime, here's a photo of Jimi with a mustache!

I'm too uncool for this to be my life!

Y'all, I am having a BLAST during this year's Austin Fashion Week. Yesterday I went to a couple events, and I wore another dress on loan to me from Parsimony. This one is made of fabric from a street market in Uganda. It wasn't made specifically for pregnant ladies, but unbelted, it fits around my middle just fine:
date: 17 August 2010
occasion: Austin Fashion Week parties
dress: on loan from Parsimony
wedges: Victoria Spencer (Shoe Carnival!)
bag: vintage, courtesy of American Apparel SXSW flea market

Here's some party pics from last night.

Me and Rachel from do512.com and Rad Works.

Kelly from Yelp Austin, me, and Grechen from New to Atx.

Pregnancy row! That's the super famous Jennifer Perkins on the right. Yes, the same Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club. I was shocked and aghast that she knew who I was!

A note for my Tweet peeps: I was successful in my endeavors to score free non-alcoholic drinks. I sucked down the free Maine Root and Waialua Soda like no one's business all night!

Alright. Can we talk frankly for a moment? Yes? Okay. Good.

There are many moments in my life when I stop and think, "I am entirely too UNCOOL for this to be my life!" Blame it on a lame high school experience or a nerd complex or whatever, but whenever I'm out and about and I meet people who have happed upon Adored Austin, I am incredulous that this is my life and this little 'ole blog has caused me to meet so many wonderfully awesome, incredibly cool people! Austin Fashion Week, so far, has been like this non-stop for me. I love it. I feel humbled and blessed beyond words. I met so many fine folks last night, and I was going to attempt to name and link everyone, but then the list got really, really ridiculously long, and I was nervous that I forgot a couple people and I didn't want them to feel slighted.

Anyway, when I started this a year ago, I had no idea that doing a blog could be so much fun even when you're away from your desk! Thanks, everyone!

As for you folks that I haven't met yet, I wish I could meet ALL OF YOU in person. Giant road trip, perhaps? Mass exodus to Austin, everyone? I have a guest room and guest bathroom that you might be able to use soon...

Winner: Orient Watch USA

[music sampled: "Time" by Lindsey Mae]

I wish everyone could have won! No fear, though; there's a giveaway lined up every week for the rest of the summer, and I have high hopes that if you haven't won, yet, you'll win something soon! Thank you to all 179 of you who entered! Sorry for the boring/ lame video. I just got home from tonight's Austin Fashion Week festivities and the rest of my week is packed. This means I am (joyfully) pressed for time and couldn't think of a typically silly video to crank out tonight. Thanks for your lenience with me on that! If you haven't already, you really should look through my Vimeo and see how absurd most of the other 42 videos are. This one and this one are a little more than a year old, but they are still my favorites.

Giveaway: win a vintage animal necklace!

Edit: 23 August- Entry period passed. Winner will be announced tonight!

Last month the dear, sweet (and pregnant!) Little Ocean Annie sent me five vintage animal necklaces to add to my animal jewelry collection. I just have to share some of the wealth! Up for grabs this week are TWO vintage animal necklaces, both on an eighteen inch chain.

Meet Miss Fish:She loves giving kisses and she hopes to meet Mr. Fish one day soon.

And meet Mr. Lion:Mr. Lion is very brave. He lost his lower leg in the Battle of Cute vs. Cute. He was, however, victorious.

Here's what you have to do to win:
1. Double check to make sure you're following Adored Austin either on Google Reader, Blog Lovin', Networked Blogs (fb app), or simply like Adored Austin on Facebook.
2. By midnight Texas time this Sunday, August 22nd, fill out this form:

Note: form has been removed. Entry period has passed!

Good luck, everyone! I'll draw TWO WINNERS at random on Monday night, August 23rd. No need to retweet or repost or any of that madness for extra entries. Please, only one entry per person.

*note: After the winner has been announced, I delete all your information from my inbox and server to ensure your privacy. I never share your email address with others without your permission.

Runway video: Austin Fashion Week Kick-off/ Mash-up Teams

What happens when you randomly pair one model, one photographer, one clothing designer, one make-up artist, one hair stylist, and one accessories designer together and challenge them to create one cohesive, sensational look? You get the Mash-Up portion of Austin Fashion Week!

The kick-off show ended last night with all 23 mash-up kick-off team models strutting their stuff down the runway. The public is still deliberating over who has the best photo, but last night, we were able to see the looks up close and personal:

[music mash-up by DJ Earworm]

You can still cast your vote for the best mash-up team photo online (no registration necessary). The award will be given out next Saturday at the highly anticipated awards show. I can't wait to see who wins!

Update: see my thoughts about this runway show on News8 (video).

Austin Fashion Week kick-off... plus "I Think We're Alone Now"

I don't think I've ever done a Sunday post before (hey, a girl's got to have at least one day off, right?), but since last night's launch of Austin Fashion Week was so much fun and there's still many more events, I thought I'd go ahead and get some of last night's posts up.

First thing first: what did this extremely pregnant lady wear? After months of wondering how I would dress my Santa Claus- like body for so many events, I was incredibly thankful and excited that Parsimony, who is up for an Austin Fashion Week Award, offered to dress me for the kick-off event and even loaned me another dress for today's afternoon AMOA after party at Marq. This is the dress I chose for last night:

This cotton dress kept me as cool and comfortable as possible. I didn't bother with curling my hair since the humidity would have made it fall flat in six seconds.

note: here's what it looks like on a non-pregnant body...

A DIY necklace, and

a new animal, of course!

date: 14 August 2010
occasion: Austin Fashion Week kick-off party
dress: on loan from Parsimony (if you could vote for them as a special thank you for dressing me, that would be phenomenal-- no registration necessary!)
necklace: chain from Buffalo Exchange, ribbon DIY
clutch: vintage via Texas Thrift
owl ring: Buffalo Exchange, new merch
wedges: Cynthia Vincent for Target

It was sweltering outside (what else is new? This is Texas!), but if memory serves me correctly, it was a lot cooler than last year. I had a great seat, and I feel incredibly blessed that the local fashion community has accepted me into their fold and that they always give me an excellent front row runway seat:

note: If I look strange here, blame it on the heat and the colored contact lenses!

My seat was so fantastic that I was literally five feet from 80's pop icon Tiffany who performed the heck out the kick-off party. She didn't let me down, and the crowd was super enthusiastic about her closing song:

I was so impressed that Tiffany sang without ear monitors and without a backing track. She has quite a set of pipes on her! Hubs pointed out that Tiffany got famous at a time when talent was a requirement, and let me tell y'all: she's still got it!

Jimi's new fashionable dog bed

I initially bought this sweet fabric to make a dress for myself.

Then I learned that there is a difference between regular fabric weight and upholstery weight. This was bought at Ikea, and it's upholstery weight, so it's never going to be comfortable or flowy enough for a summer dress.

So then I thought that I would make curtains out of the fabric... until I saw this sweet suitcase at Savers today:

I used one yard and made a pillow case, and TADA! Jimi has a new dog bed!

I plan to attach some legs to the suitcase and remove the top so the lid doesn't shut on him. Eventually, I'll make him a matching dog toy in the next coming weeks and trick out his new bed.

Time spent on this project? Thirty minutes!

Austin Fashion Week starts this Saturday

It's hard to believe it's already that time again! Austin Fashion Week starts in just two days! I went to a lot of event last year, but Adored Austin was just a little baby, and I was still shy about telling people about my site. This year is a whole new ballgame. Austin Fashion Week is back and bigger than ever, and I'll be covering events for Adored Austin and Do512.com.

VOTING
You can vote for your favorite retailer, salon & spa, designer, photographer, hair stylist, makeup artist, model, and mash-up team by going here. You don't have to live in Austin to vote, and you don't have to register or give up any of your personal information to cast your vote, either. Easy! Award winners will be announced at next Saturday's Austin Fashion Week awards show. Several of my friends are up for awards, and I'd love to see them win!

EVENTS
There are TONS. You can literally fill every night with fun things to do. And the good news? Most of the Monday- Friday events are free and offer free drinks and free foodstuffs! Check out the full schedule here.

These are the events I know for sure I'll be attending:
1. This Saturday: Kick-off Party. 6 p.m. GSD&M Idea City.
Cynthia Vincent on the runway and 80's pop icon Tiffany on the stage? I'm so there, and I really hope Tiffany sings "I Think We're Alone Now". I may even bring my hairbrush and sing along so I can reimagine my entire second grade existence.
Tickets: $75 (save $10 with promo code NEWS8)

2. Sunday, August 15th. Keep Austin Beautiful. 2 p.m. AMOA.
Recycled fashion at Austin's Museum of Art.
Tickets: $10 but SOLD OUT (I missed my opportunity to get tickets, too!) but not to fret, there's a free after party at The Marq (422 Congress Ave) at 3:30 p.m. All the models and designers will be there, mixing and mingling.

3. Sunday, August 15th. Fashion's Most Wanted. 8 p.m. The Belmont.
Put on by renowned model Brianna Fleet and designer Amanda Fey, this is going to be a fancy, red-carpet affair with high production value and good, live music.
Tickets: $7 - $40

4. Saturday, August 22nd: Austin Fashion Week Awards Show. 5:30 p.m. The Long Center.
This is pretty much the academy awards for local fashion 'round these parts. Golden Boot trophies become next year's bragging rights, and the show is chop-full of acceptance speeches, live music, runway offerings, and glamor and glitz. This event benefits Dress For Success and Austin Involved.
Tickets: $30- $60 (save $10 with promo code NEWS8).

I also plan to be at:
Girls Night Out. Fashion Wonderland. Eye Candy Photography Cocktail Party. Garden of Style on Second. Fashion with Compassion.

Per your advice, I did end up purchasing the Demeter Maxi dress from ModCloth to wear to the awards show next Saturday. I also got a sassy leopard print frock from Motherhood Maternity to wear this Saturday. I just need to round up another dress for Sunday, and I'll feel like I'm good to go!

I'll be flying solo to these events as Hubs tries to finish the rest of our home renovations. Let me know if you plan on being at any of the Austin Fashion Week events! I'd love to meet up with you and hang out with you. We can even belt out some Tiffany tunes together at the top of our lungs!

The trouble with skirts

I don't think we can call it a baby bump any longer. This thing has grown to giant proportions and deserves a name like baby mountain or Mt. Baby or something of that ilk. In fact if it's a boy, I really should consider naming it Everest Adams. In any regard, this has caused quite a wardrobe conundrum. Do my skirts go above or below the outgrowth?Putting my skirt above Mt.Baby makes me feel like Urkle, but putting it below makes me feel like one of these gentlemen. Thoughts?

I have a dentist appointment today, and I'm quite apprehensive. I think I've mentioned this here before, but my greatest fear is the dentist office. In fact, pre-pregnancy I had to take a little pill to calm my nerves before my dentist appointment. Even if it's just a little 'ole cleaning, my hygienist gives me a soft blanket to wrap up in, a pillow to hold, and puts the ocean on the tv. I crank the iPod and count to 100 over and over again to keep my mind off the freaky noises and vibrations reverberating off my brain. I am not looking forward to this appointment, so like last time, I'm wearing something whimsical to boost my sour mood.


date: 11 August 2010
occasion: dentist office
skirt: vintage via Smashion
tank: courtesy of Love 21 Maternity
wedges: TOMS
bow: I made it this morning!

This is the skirt I blogged and bought on Smashion.com, and it makes me so happy! When getting dressed this morning I thought, "This outfit needs something..." I had some leftover fabric from the cloth napkins I made a few weeks ago, so I crafted up this little bow to add a touch of whimsy. For me, whimsy is a requirement to offset an afternoon touture session at the dentist office!

[Smashion is an Adored Austin partner.]

Fabric freak

So you know how I've recently learned/ discovered sewing and I've been encouraging you all to get into it? Yeah, don't. Otherwise, before you know it you'll be a fabric buying freak like me! I ordered an entire bolt (that's 15 yards!) of Michael Miller chevron print fabric for my friend Robie's fabric trading party (um, who knew there were things like that going on in the world?!). Then yesterday I casually stopped into Hancock Fabrics after a fruitless south Savers trip, and I walked out with this pile of yumminess:
I have no specific plans for any of this other than trying out some of the projects in my new book:There are so many cute and easy projects in this book (101 to be exact), and it comes with an envelope full of easy to read patterns. If you're a beginner, it's perfect.

I'm thinking about making a dress with the grey polka dot material and a skirt with the airplane print (I just realized that the reason why that airplane fabric called to me is because I had seen it HERE on Linda). I really can't believe how much I'm enjoying sewing! I'm finding a lot of inspiration from my friend Robie at So Sew Something, Linda at Little Tin Soilder (who is also on BurdaStyle) and Novita at Very Purple Person. If y'all have any other crafty girl blogs to share with me, please leave the link in my comment section!

Oh! And for those of you who asked, I use the cheap, cheap, cheapiest Singer sewing machine that Walmart had in stock five years ago (the updated/ better version is here). I have no plans to upgrade because it does the job for me just fine. For now. For now I'm going to allocate my funds to stocking my sewing supplies. I am pretty sure that I'm going to be on a first name basis with the fabric cutting ladies at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Joann, and Hancock Fabrics! Hubs has greenlighted me turning the guest bedroom into a sewing room, and there's a walk-in closet in there. That means there's plenty of room to store cute fabrics for future projects! I really need to learn some self-control...

Winner: Uchenna necklace

[music: "These Photographs" by Joshua Radin]

Big apologies for getting this video up a day late! After working an evening on Love Austin, I really wanted to try my hand at a stop motion video, but had no idea how much time it would take! Thanks for your patience, everyone, and congrats to the winner. Super big thanks to David at Uchenna for his creative work and sweet giveaway prize!

Thank you to everyone who entered. Again, if you didn't win, no worries! There's a giveaway lined up every week for the remainder of the summer, and I just know you'll win one soon!

Giveaway: Orient Watch USA

Entry period has passed. Winner will be randomly drawn tonight!

As I said in my Orient Watch USA video review, I am always late, but I've been trying to change that thanks to the help of my pink faced automatic watch courtesy of Orient USA Watch.

Orient Watch USA has been big in the blog world lately. Hubs is in dire need of a new watch, and though they are most well known for their men's line (like the CEZ05001B and the CEV09001W) they also have some fine women's watches, as well! In fact, you can win one of these watches this week on Adored Austin! I can't promise that you'll never be late again, but I can promise that you're wrist will look good adorned with one of these watches! Isn't my watch cute?

I have the pink faced watch.

But if you win, you can choose between a pink face, red face, blue face, or green face.

Here's what you have to do to win:
1. Double check to make sure you're following Adored Austin either on Google Reader, Blog Lovin', Networked Blogs (fb app), or simply like Adored Austin on Facebook.
2. By midnight Texas time this Sunday, August 15th, fill out this form (note: this contest, unfortunately, is only open to U.S. residents):

Update: form removed. Entry period passed.

Good luck, everyone! I'll draw the winner at random on Monday night, August 16th. No need to retweet or repost or any of that madness for extra entries. Please, only one entry per person.

*note: After the winner has been announced, I delete all your information from my inbox and server to ensure your privacy. I never share your email address with others without your permission.

Review: Orient Watch USA pink faced watch

Back when most everyone wore watches (and didn't depend on a cell phones for the time) I used to go without a watch and brag, "I'm not time oriented, I'm people oriented." LIES! My friends would purposely tell me things started 30 minutes earlier than they actually did in hopes that I'd be on time! One thing that I really hate about myself and I've been trying to change for years is the fact that I'm always running five to 15 minutes late. I lamented this fact back in June, so the sweet folks at Orient Watch USA sent me a darling little timepiece to help me combat this problem.

Like most of you, I don't usually wear a watch, but for a while I've been thinking that I should change that. Yes, I have the time on my cell phone, but my phone is usually tucked away in my purse when I'm out and about or it's in a different room changing when I'm at home. So far I've really enjoyed wearing a watch so that I can just glance down and grab the time. To insure a perfect fit, I did have to have three links removed (I just went to the mall and Fast Fix did it for $16.00).

[Music sampled: "All This Time" by the Heartless Bastards]

Orient Watch USA is known for their men's watches like the CFD0E001B and the CET0B001W but they carry stylish women's watches, too. In fact, you can even enter to win the same one I have by visiting this giveaway post and filling out the embedded form!

Please note: I did not receive compensation for this review nor was I required to do the review and/ or to give it a positive review. Please see my post regarding "courtesy of items on Adored Austin".

Poll: which dress for Austin Fashion Week's awards show?

I am convinced that I have the most stylish readers, ever. Y'all have never led me astray when I've asked for your help, so I am asking for your opinion once again. Be my stylist! I need a dress. I need a lovely dress for the awards show for Austin Fashion Week. I am seven months pregnant now, but I want to feel beautiful and glamorous but at the same time be comfortable! I imagine that there will be photos (there will be a red carpet, after all), so I need to look good! I've narrowed it down to three (very similar) maxi dresses from ModCloth. I can only afford one (they are each $59.99), and I honestly am stumped over which one I should get!
[click on the dress to see its individual ModCloth page]

I'll buy it on Wednesday and wear it to the awards show so long as it looks okay and gets here in time!

Update: Thanks for voting! I can't believe how close it was. The olive Demeter dress has been ordered! It will debut in the near future!

"Lucky!" (said in a Napoleon Dynamite voice)

I got a Tweet from my pregnant buddy Jen at JenLovesKev about this and stopped by Barnes and Noble to see if it was true:
Bam! My mug in a national magazine, and I didn't even have to rob a bank to make that happen. I'm honored to be in the September issue of Lucky alongside folks like Jessica and Taylor. Too bad they cropped my photo. As you may recall, sweet little Jimi is sitting at my feet in it. Jimi really was banking on this to be his shot at fame... oh, well. Maybe Dog Fancy will give us a call next.

Saving Private Adams

It's Friend Friday, and this week's topic is blogger privacy. Since I'm working on a screenplay about a blogger with a stalker, this topic is of huge interest to me!
1. Do you think privacy is something we should worry about as bloggers?
The beauty of blogs is that it's really up to the author how much privacy she wants. Adored Austin started off as a place where my friends and family and my Austin acquaintances could keep up with me online and learn more about the fashion happenings in town. I was never concerned about my privacy because I initially thought that the only people that would come here would just be people I knew in real life! I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't at all the case, but nonetheless, the tone of this is and will always be a personal, self-style diary. With that comes a willingness to give up some privacy.

Someone else may think that I'm way too laid back about my online privacy. After all, I'm all over the web: Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Gowalla, Foursquare, Tumblr, IMDb, etc. (note: I'm totally into geolocation sites like Foursquare because quite a few times I've put in where I am and I've met a reader! I love making my internet friends my in real life friends!). Also, I fully expect to have a mom-blog and post photos of my kid. I suppose it'd be very easy for someone to pull all the details from each of my public profiles and figure out stuff about me. This doesn't freak me out, but I get that it freaks others out. I'm actually writing a suspense/ horror movie about a blogger with a stalker! But, c'mon. How common are stalkers for non-celebrities? Not very.

Hubs, who works in the tech field and knows a thing or two about internet security, is way more concerned about all this than I am. There have been times when he has checked my blog from work and has called me to tell me I need to edit a photo to remove private information (such as when I posted an unedited photo of my traffic ticket or when I posted a photo of my new business cards with my phone number on it). Whoops!

2. Do you use your real name or a pen name? What was behind that decision?
No one, except for my grandma, calls me by my real name. I use the name that people call me, and it's the same name I use for acting and my screenplay work. It's a nickname that I've gone by for a long, long, long time, and it feels more real to me than my real name. I'm not going to have my first name legally changed to Indiana, but I do operate with an assumed name license and a DBA for "Indiana Adams".
3. How much personal information do you reveal about your life beyond the blog?
I actually have three blogs and Adored Austin is surprisingly the only one where I stick to a strict editorial guideline of semi-superficiality. On this blog, I usually only write about what I'm wearing, what I'm doing, what I'm digging in the fashion/ shopping world, and what's happening around Austin. I'll reveal most everything about myself so long as it has to do with one of those four things.

4. What will you never reveal?
Hubs has asked me to not reveal his real name on the blog, however, if you meet us in public, I will introduce him by his name and not "Hubs". I also have a very strict rule of "NO DIRTY LAUNDRY" on Adored Austin. This is both literal and figurative. Any woes I have concerning non-fashion things will remain off this site.

5. As bloggers, we have to an extent made ourselves 'public' figures. But still there are things that are intimate to each of us that does not need to be known by anyone that stumbles across our blog. How do you determine what is appropriate for public consumption and what is private to you?
I write exactly how I talk to my best friend, but that does not mean I reveal all things on here that I would reveal to her. This blog is a public place, and I do truly consider the people that come here regularly my friends. So what do friends talk about in public places? They usually keep the conversation lighthearted and fun. Topics don't get too hot-button, and the dirty laundry stays out of sight.

Following my other blogs, however, is a totally different story. With The Wonder Love, I'm actually even considering live Tweeting on the big birth day! Can you imagine? "MY WATER BROKE!" My family lives far away, and the 'net is a wonderful tool for us to stay connected. If others choose to join the ride, that's cool with me, too.

If you have a blog, what's your stance on blogger privacy? If you don't, do you think I reveal too much about myself here?

To participate in Friend Friday, visit Katy's blog Modly Chic for details.

My first dress is wearable!

Ever since I learned to sew a couple weeks back, I have been itching to make a dress. Granted, my sewing skills are not that impressive (I can do straight lines and corners and that's about it), but nonetheless, I woke up this morning determined to make a dress for myself for tonight!Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby and literally got the cheapest fabric on the shelf. Most fabrics start at $6.99/ yard, but this unremarkable linen-like weave was marked down to $2.99/ yard with an additional 30% off. I got two and a half yards of plaid and one yard of plain black.

I wanted to make a simple Le Sac inspired dress but with a sweet block hem like my Maggie London dress and a long Parsimony inspired belt. I didn't use a pattern (I only used my Le Sac dress and Maggie London dress as a cutting guide), and this is what I came up with:



date: 5 August 2010
occasion: girls night to Hut's Hamburgers and then the Fashionique website launch party
dress: I made it! The belt is reversible! This is still going to fit me after Baby Adams is born!
shoes: Cynthia Vincent for Target
purse: thrifted, Goodwill

Although I didn't use a pattern, here's a couple places where you can find the specs to make your own Le Sac dress:link 1, link 2. A couple of Adored Austin readers did this a while back and had amazing results!

By the way, Fashionique is the store in Austin where I used to get a lot of my quirky animal jewelry. The owner Stacy has since shut her doors in order to concentrate exclusively on her web sales. I plan to go to her website launch party tonight and pick her brain about online commerce. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll launch my own online jewelry shop, solely selling kitschy animal baubles!