What She Wore

Speaking of bloggers who we started following way back in the day, Jessica from What I Wore was one of those for me. She was incredibly helpful and supportive when I first started blogging. I remember her leaving me really kind comments on Weardrobe and adding me to her blog roll when I was brand new (even though my pictures were even worse than they are now!).

Because of all this, I rejoiced with her when she got her book deal and was delighted when Random House mailed me one copy to review and one copy to give away to an Adored Austin reader:

You don't have to do anything crazy to win. Just enter the form below and I'll draw a winner at random Wednesday morning. Please check out Jessica's What I Wore book site when you get a chance and be sure to order your copy, which is coming out this Tuesday, July 5th:

My review after the jump...

Double shorts

One of the first bloggers I ever connected with was Mel from Ideé Géniale. We both arrived on the scene in a more regular way in June of 2009 and mutually stalked each other all over Weardrobe, Chictopia, and all those other sites. We were among the first members of the Delightful Dozen together. I've admired her style and her honesty from day one. Something else I admired (more recently) was her black lace shorts from High Gloss fashion (seen here). I promptly added them to my "gotta have 'em" list. Since I've found myself wearing shorts more often than dresses lately, I picked up a pair of floral shorts from High Gloss Fashion, too. When they arrived, I realized that I liked them together and that they went well with my new wedges:

date: 30 June 2011 | occasion: Nintendo party with Robert & Heidi
tee: Urban Outfitters | lace shorts: High Gloss Fashion | floral shorts: c/o High Gloss Fashion | shoes: c/o PB&J Boutique

Who are some of the first style bloggers you started following? My first bookmarked sites were Mel from Ideé Géniale, Elizabeth from Delightfully Tacky, Jessica from What I Wore, and Krystal from This Time Tomorrow, and Jen from Jen Loves Kev.

Inspired by Claudia and Veronika (and a watermelon)

One of the best compliments I have ever received was from my friend Jess. When we were first getting to know each other she said, "You know who you remind me of? Please don't take this the wrong way, but you totally remind me of Claudia from The Babysitters Club." Best compliment, ever! I tore through the Babysitters Clubs books in elementary school, and my favorite parts of each book were the descriptions of Claudia's outfits. I particularly remember one of her outfits as being inspired by a watermelon: striped/ tie-dyed green leggings and a bright pink shirt. I blatantly copied style chained Veronika's Striped Shirt outfit (seen here) but put a watermelon twist on it alá Claudia Kishi:

date: 29 June 2011| occasion: Tamale House lunch, city group dinner
tee: TxSCC gift from Striped Shirt | shorts: Lulu*s | shoes: Deena & Ozzy (UO) | bag: MapTote

Please note: this is not the first time I've dressed like a character from a preteen novel series. I once channeled Stephanie from The Sleepover Friends. Who's next?

Not an epic fail

I have worn this exact outfit twice without taking photos, so I woke up this morning and tried to recreate it. I wouldn't call this morning's self-photography session an "epic fail", per se, but I would call it a "minor disappointment". There was only one photo that was in focus enough to actually see the outfit:

Please disregard my face. I took this at 8 this morning, after someone (I won't name names) woke me up at midnight, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, and 7:30 a.m.

I did get a nice shot of the lace, whereas the rest of the photos turned out worse than this:

date: Fridays June 17 & 24 | occasion: Free People party, radio show
1960's vintage dress: Thrift Town | under dress: Tulle via ThreadSence | wedges: Cynthia Vincent for Target

I am convinced that the perfect combination of style blogging is lady blogger/ professional photographer husband. Not that I'd want Chris to quit his job and be a photographer or anything. Just know that it's only sleepy-eyed me out there with a self-timer and a tripod, okay?

A word about this dress: SCORE! I spied this at Thrift Town a couple weeks ago. Priced at $10, I tried to get the price down to $5, but no dice (it never hurts to ask). There's a similar one on eBay going for over $100, and newer ones sell for close to $60. I knew if I didn't snatch it up, I'd regret it. It's one of my favorite thrift finds this year.

Tune in!

I am on my way out the door to take Jude swimming, but I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be on the radio tonight. It's a nationally syndicated show, so please tune in!

I'll be doing the Mascara Monologues on Your Time with Kim Iverson. In Austin, that's 94.7. Check your local listings here and tune in around 7 pm. I hope to bring up animal jewelry at least once and my friend dared me to bring up Lord of the Rings as many times as possible! Maybe I'll start every sentence with, "It's like in 'Return of the King' when Gollum said..."

By the way... did you see my Tweet of the hideous jumpsuit I had to wear on set the last few days? No? It's here. Go ahead. Laugh. Feel sorry for me. There was no air conditioning on set, and my jumpsuit was made of polyester. Watch for the ponytailed extra in the hallway chase scenes when this comes out.

Seven bags!

Warning: I don't get all super serious on here often, but I'm about to wander into that territory tonight. Eeek.

I mentioned back in April that I had been trying to re-do my closet since January. I got 90% of the reorganizing done, and then one day last week, I looked in my closet and it was a complete disaster again. I've come to realize that it's not about the space that I have, it's about the stuff I accumulate. My closet took over my guest room, so on Monday I finally bagged up some stuff and immediately loaded it into my car and drove it away to donate:

It wound up being seven bags of clothes and shoes from the guest room alone. I imagine that when I go through my closet again, I'll have another couple of bags of clothes to give away.

I've been wanting to write about this since my (failed) 30x30 run last spring. I read What I Wore's new book over the weekend (review to come later!), and it really got me thinking about putting together a smaller, more thoughtful wardrobe.

I mean, what kind of person have I become? How can I complain about only being able to use thirty items of clothing for thirty days? Seriously? It wasn't that long ago when I was a child in a blue collar family who would have been amazed to have thirty pieces of clothing, total! How in the world did I come to own so much clothing that I could fill seven trash bags full of clothing that I don't really wear anymore?

I have a lot more I want to say about all this, but I need the weekend to really think about what I'm trying to say here.

Review: Shabby Apple Lighthouse Dress

Shabby Apple is too kind to me. When Adored Austin was a year old, they sponsored a great giveaway. They wanted to send me a dress to review last year (they have fabulous women's dresses!) but I declined since I was pregnant and knew that I would only be able to wear it for a limited time. I wanted to have a Shabby Apple dress that would last, ya' know?

They recently worked with me to help me find the perfect dress for my body type. I sent Kate my measurements (5'9'' at 36B- 29-38) and told her some of the parts of my body I'm not crazy about (belly!). When they offered to outfit me in the Lighthouse Dress in a size small, (I'll admit it) I balked. In no world have I ever been a small. I'm right between a medium and a large and a size 30 jeans. When my dress arrived in the mail today, I skeptically tried it on, and -HOLY COW- it was a great fit! I didn't have to suck it in to zip it up or anything!




date: 21 June 2011 | occasion: watching The Voice on tv
dress: Shabby Apple | shoes: Lulu*s
I kept it simple with my new wedges because Shabby Apple's thing is that their dresses are great as is, on their own. They're modest (no low necklines, so no need for a camisole), they have great attention to detail (no need for crazy accessories), and they hit at the knee (no need for safety shorts in case of flashing!).

Review:
Color- It's hard to tell from the photos, but this dress is actually made of yellow fabric that is covered with a thin white fabric. I thought it read as peach online, so I was presently surprised to find the sunshiny lining. Yellow is my absolute favorite color to wear!
Belt- It's detachable which means the bow can go in the back or I can go without. I think it looks cute both with and without.
Fit- I recommend working with a fit specialist (why not? It's free! Just email info@shabbyapple.com). I would have ordered a medium, for sure. Like I said, I am never, ever a small!
Fabric- it's so lightweight... absolutely perfect for all these 100º+ days we've been having here in Austin. The fabric is sturdy, but you'll for sure need a nude bra and maybe a slip underneath. I initially tried it on with black undergarments and that was a no-go!
Verdict: recommended!

One of those weeks...

Oh, man. I am super behind, and I'm on set for the next three days (just extra work-- nothing to write home about), so I feel like I'm never going to be able to catch up! Ever have one of those weeks?

Side note: saw this on my friend's mom blog (clarification: this is her daughter, not mine) and it made me smile:

Future style blogger in the making, right? When I retire from Adored Austin, I know just the girl to pass it on to!

Branching out

When I went into Langford Market last week, I told my buddy (and store manager) Davina that I had a rote summer routine: cotton sundress, flip flops, animal necklace. Over the months, I've really come to trust the tastes of my favorite shop girls, so I told Davina to pull some things slightly out of the realm of what I'd usually pull for myself. I ended up leaving with a black pants suit/ jumper thing (coming soon!) and this top, which I knew, instantly, would be paired with my new leather shorts:

date: 15 June 2011 | occasion: audition
top: c/o Langford Market | shorts: 80's Purple (similar) | Vintage haori: Thrift Town | zebra bracelet: Fashionique (closed- similar) | sandals: Old Navy (similar)

I love kimono jackets (proof: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). This haori (which is a short kimono jacket) is the coolest one I've ever seen. Instead of traditional silk brocade fabric, this one has a cool abstract/ 80's branch print and a shocking pink liner. The Texans 'round here love their air conditioning cranked, so I usually keep a haori stashed in my bag or car just in case. They're so effortless and funky. I love them, but it could just be the Asian in me.

Exile in Austin

What are you doing tomorrow night? What? Nothing? Well, gosh, do I have a recommendation for you (if you live in Austin). Get your booty down to the Mohawk to celebrate the launch of Free People's new summer video lookbook and catalog shot by Austin's own Alexandra Valenti and featuring the stylish good looks and sounds of The Happen-Ins.

No cover. All ages. 5-8 p.m.

Here's a couple of behind the scenes photos of the shoot:

Pretty cool, huh?

Great clothes? Great music? A discount to Free People? A chance to win $50 and $500 giftcards? No cover?

Now that that's settled, I'll see you there.

[Need more info? See also: Facebook invite]

Gettin' tiki with it

Thanks to Who What Wear Daily, I feel completely justified in my recent desire for all things printed with animals. When browsing through Messes of Dresses, I had to have their Tiki Tiki Dress. I know what you're thinking... "A tiki head is not an animal, Indiana". I know! But look at this print, y'all! I think it resembles an owl. And my love for owls has been well documented over here, I think:
Plus, I love the cut of it, the little flippy flaps on the top, the adjustable straps (important!), and the fact that it's made in the USA:

date: 12 June 11 | occasion: church

dress: c/o Messes of Dresses | shoes: vintage, Texas Thrift (similar) | watch: Michael Kors via Denton Goodwill (same)

More like a tiki head or more like an owl? What do you think?

Reunited

Some of you may have been following the saga of my beloved and subsequently destroyed pairs of Cynthia Vincent for Target wedges. Others of you are probably sick of hearing about them. For those of you in the first camp, here's the latest update (for those of you in the second camp, I'm sorry):

Honestly? I was dubious. The shoes are fake leather and retailed for only $30 a pair. But after Amy and a few others told me to just inquire to see what Austin Shoe Hospital could do, I thought "why not?". I got a reasonable quote and a quick turnaround estimate (three days!), and I am happy to report that they did a great job. The total cost to repair both pairs was only $26.00 including tax. (I went to the Oak Hill location, but there are ten locations all over the city). Now let's see if these shoes can avoid any future puppy attacks, shall we?

Two days, ten years!

For seven years, I have successfully managed to drag our anniversary out into a two day celebration. Chris is a really great sport about it. Since June 11th is the date we started dating and June 12th is the date we got married (three years later), it's a great excuse to celebrate for two whole days.

On Saturday, we took Jude to Fredericksburg. I solicited suggestions via Twitter and tried to do everything y'all suggested: I attempted to shop the antique stores on Main Street, we ate at Rather Sweet Bakery, and I stopped in Red. We came back to Austin, bought some peaches from a roadside stand, dropped Jude off at home, and had a nice dinner at the Mansion at Judges' Hill (Woo! Groupon!).

floral dress: Buffalo Exchange, last seen here.
purple beaded dress: ECI (haggled down to $6.97 at Nordstrom Rack!).

By no means has it been a fairy tale, but we are thankful to be able look back and see evidences of God's grace. We're excited to see our marriage continuing to mature as we learn more about each other, create more shared history, and fall more and more in love.

And she's back in the game!

Jude can finally sit up on his own in a shopping cart, so that means I am free to resume my weekly thrift store adventures of yore (and when I say "yore" I mean pre-pregnancy yore). I used to go at least once per week, so to make up for my hiatus, this week I went three times! Here's a peak at some of my recent acquisitions:

Top row (L-R): 1960's beaded purse (Thrift Town), Chanel-like 1980's blazer (Savers), 1980's belts with heavy brass buckles- mustard suede and leopard print pony hair (Thrift Town).
Bottom row (L-R): 1980's baby pink leather pants (Texas Thrift), 70's Italian leather mint condition lady brogues (Thrift Town), branches print 1960's real silk kimono.

I'm on fire, y'all. I scored all this for around $25.00. I'm thinking about writing an Adored Austin guide to thrift store shopping, covering everything from the upscale (like Feathers) to the diiiiiirty (like Blue Hanger) and throwing in tips about how to score coupons and how to politely haggle. I've been doing this for so long and so often that I know which stores are good on which days and what stores have the best whatever.

Chris is also pleased to announce that I've run out of storage for all my vintage goodies in our guestroom, so while I wait on the dream, my sister and I will be opening up an online vintage boutique very soon. She lives in Florida and will be picking from there, and I'll be curating our shop. Our husbands are quite pleased that we've decided to unload some of our own collection. She's been collecting jewelry from the 40's- 60's while I've been grabbing things from the 70's- 80's for years now. I'm one of those nutso people who sees something quality for a crazy low price and then I buy it even if it doesn't fit me. My guestroom closet is completely full, as is the floor and the bed. We have guests coming soon, so I've got to start getting it cleared out!

Our shop is called "Common Nostalgia" and we want every piece to feel a little like home. I feel like Shelley and I have a really normal, attainable (but different from each other) style aesthetic, so I hope you'll like what we sell. I can't wait to get it started, and I want to thank those of you who encouraged me to open it while I wait for my trailer.

TMI: My most embarrassing summer moment. Share yours for a chance to win a $75 giftcard to Lulu*s! (closed)

While Chris and I were just dating, I was doing the Disney College Program in Orlando, Florida. This meant that anytime he came down from Georgia Tech to visit me, we would run around the parks together. It was pretty special for a couple in their first year of dating.

On one such visit (our one year anniversary, actually) we were exploring Epcot together when all of a sudden, I had to pee. I had to pee badly. I started frantically searching for a bathroom somewhere in Epcot Japan. Unbeknownst to me, I was coming down with a bladder infection, so my threshold of being able to hold it was very, very low... so low that all of a sudden --without warning!-- I just wet my pants. In the middle of the happiest place on earth. In front of my boyfriend.

I was mortified. More than mortified! Chris was super understanding, though. He didn't laugh very loudly, and he graciously walked behind me in my cloud of pee stank as we continued to search for a bathroom. I found a small, quiet one and sent him on a mission to explore all the gift shops and come back with a skirt or a sarong or anything. Anything!

In the meantime, I grabbed as much paper towel as I could, and I went into a stall and took of my shorts and underpants. I made a wrap skirt out of the ream of paper towel and got to work washing out my clothes in the sink and blow drying them under the hand dryer. Little did I know that I had picked a bathroom that was right outside a music show pavilion and that my small, "quiet" restroom would become the bustling metropolis of the park once the show let out.
"Mommy! Look! She's wearing a paper towel skirt!"
"Accident, huh?"
And I swear to you, I had to shoo away one small child who tried to wipe her hands on my makeshift skirt.
- - - - - - - - - - -
That, my friends, is my most embarrassing summer story. I tell you all this to encourage you to share yours.

I've teamed up with Lulu*s for an amazing giveaway. Between now and a week from now, share your most embarrassing summer story for a chance to win a $75 gift card from their shop. C'mon! Redeem your shame! Surf on over to Lulu*s, pick out something you love, then fill out the form below by midnight, June 16th and you'll be eligible to win. I'll even share some of these embarrassing tales in an upcoming post. Best story wins, so submit one if you have one. You could use your Lulu*s credit to grab one of the fabulous skirts above (oh, how wish I would have had one of these in my bag at the time!):
update: form removed, finalists named

If you liked that story, you can also like Adored Austin here (no pressure):
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Langford Market event: decor from blah to brilliant

When I went to Langford Market yesterday, I picked up a pair of shorts printed with birds and a zebra print dress (the dress literally has zebras printed on it): sneak peek. Y'all! I have issues! Why must I wear an animal every day???

Anyway, while there, I also learned that they're doing a really cool event tomorrow:

I suck at decorating my house. I have ideas, but I never get around to doing them. I can't wait to get some free advice and drinks and appetizers (at their last event they had cupcakes and those fancy French macaroon things!).

I'll be there (with Jude) and I'll probably be wearing some sort of animal. Hope to see you there, too!

P.S.

Hello, old friend.

I made a Savers trip last Friday. Man, I used to go to Savers once per week but hadn't been in a while. It was fun to catch up with my old, familiar friend.

While there, I picked up this paisley, accordion pleat skirt. A few weeks ago Sara had left me a comment about loving paisley, and ever since then, I haven't been able to get paisley out of my mind.

date: 8 June 11 | occasion: shopping at Langford Market

skirt: thrifted, Savers (similar) | belt: thrifted, Buffalo Exchange (eBay- similar) | tank: Sears (similar) | wedges: c/o Wanted

This skirt came with an awesomely hideous matching blouse. I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I may attempt to refashion it into a tank top or I may just throw it into my donation bin. Did you know that when you take a bag of stuff to Savers, you get a 20% off coupon good on your entire next purchase? I hardly ever go to Savers without taking in a little bag of stuff. It helps me keep my clutter down while simultaneously helping me add to my clutter at a nicely discounted rate.

Four eyes!

Acting is a strange business. One week I could be playing a college student, and the next week I could be playing someone's mom. Yesterday I auditioned for a commercial. The role called for someone in her late 30's to early 40's. We were given storyboards of the commercial, so I tried to match the character as much as possible (without hacking all my hair off):

Wearing glasses was a requirement:

Leopard accessories were not a requirement:

(Sorry I have my thumb in my skirt here.)

date: 6 June 2011 | occasion: commercial audition
skirt: Tommy Hilfiger (similar) | t-shirt: Target | flats: Target (similar) | belt: Target (similar) | watch: vintage Gucci hand me down from my mother (similar)

I just realized that my glasses fit my face a little low. This is okay since I never wear these in public, but I would like some that are cute enough that I'd wear them more often. I'm hearing great things about Warby Parker and Tortoise and Blonde.

No outtakes today (Chris snapped my photos and did a nice job), but I do have this:

DIY(ish): statement making bib necklace

I hate when people say "I built this table" when in fact, it was an Ikea table that they simply assembled. "You did not build that table, you just screwed the pieces together." In the same way, I'm hesitant to call my fluffy necklace project from Thursday a DIY adventure because in all honesty, I just put it together. It took me all of 15 minutes... ten of which was me thinking about the chain length. Pretty sure I spent four times that amount shopping for the pieces vs. constructing it.

Let me be up front here and tell you that while I love me some DIY projects, I'm no Jessica or Erica. I can only sew straight lines, I suck at using a hot glue gun, and I can barely cut anything without making a mistake. I like Michael's because I can wander the aisles and find things that even I can easily assemble... no hot glue gun required. Case in point: this fluffy bib necklace. It was the details that first caught my eye:

The deal maker was the price tag: only $2.50!

You can't tell from the picture, but this lovely fluffy thing is simply a piece of bib shaped felt with some chiffon and tulle petals sewn onto it and metal clasps attached to each side (hidden under the fluff). I found it in the bead section (which is massive, by the way!). I think it'd be quite easy to make something like this, but for $2.50 and no glue gun injuries to my body, this saved me some time, money, and pain.

I got some brass chains, a pack of jump rings, and set my mind to make an adult bib, on the cheap. All these goodies were found in the same aisle:

Michael's gave a few of the Lucky Alpha shoppers a gift card to show our readers that they have great stuff to make some statement making pieces, but y'all already know that, right?

I can't wait to try my adult bib with a tank and cardigan this fall! It looks like something I saw at Anthro last year, but it was a fraction of the price. Plus I can brag about my stellar DIYing skills... even if it's an exaggeration.

BONUS: If you'd like to create your own statement piece of jewelry, here's a 25% off coupon to Michael's good until the 16th of July!

The only other time I'll wear an adult bib is when I'm eating a lobster. This one is way too pretty to get lobster juice on, though.

Horsing around

If there is one thing y'all can unequivocally say about me, it's that I'm a crazy animal lover. I have a panda bear on my debit card, a dog and cat on my license plate, and I've amassed quite the collection of animal jewelry. I'm also quite taken by apparel printed with animals, too. When I saw this dress at the central Austin Francesca's yesterday, I told them to stop pulling dresses for me to try on. If the horse dress fit, that would be the one I'd be taking home.




date: 2 June 11 | occasion: getting jeans hemmed, lunch with Bee
dress: c/o Francesca's credit (similar) | loafers: thrifted, Savers (similar) | BluBlockers: flea market in Seymour, Indiana (similar) | bib necklace: self-made (instructions to come tomorrow!)
When I was a kid, I lived next door to a family that kept lots of horses (bonus tidbit: I also lived by Wild Thang!). I'd beg to muck out the stalls, and my family went to the rodeo a lot. I love nostalgia, so naturally, I love horses!

Horsing around (outtakes) after the jump: