Compliments

(yes, I know I said I probably wouldn't blog this week and here I am blogging. Sue me)

I was scanning my Google reader Saturday night (yes, I'm just that cool) and read through The Glamourous Grad Student's Weekend Reads.   I skimmed her post and decided to click on this

♥ Accepting compliments gracefully is a skill we should all learn.

    And you know what?  I'm a fan.  I know I'm not the best at accepting compliments.  You just have to ask The Fiance for proof, but I have come to realize that sometimes, other people actually like what I'm wearing, doing and saying and how I'm wearing doing and saying it!  AND THEY MEAN IT!  So how does a formerly-ish insecure chick like me deal with compliments?  By saying Thank You.  It really is the simplest, easiest and least awkward way to accept a compliment.  
    But you may be wondering why I've chosen to post about compliments, yes?  Sally of Already Pretty sums it up incredibly well in her post Being Seen:

A few weeks ago, I ran into a coworker as she was leaving for the day and we walked to the parking garage together. I was wearing some pretty wild tights and she complimented me on them. She said she admired my bold style, but didn’t feel compelled to wear such loud, attention-getting clothing and accessories herself. Not every day, anyway.

She said, “When I wear this one really bright, patterned sweater that I have, people comment on it all day long. And the comments are positive, but sometimes I think, ‘I can’t wear that today, I just can’t deal with all the attention.’ Most of the time, I dress to be invisible.”

I understood this sentiment. Completely. [ditto]

In high school and college, I dressed to blend in. My desire to belong was so overpowering, that I simply followed the flock, paying absolutely no heed to what I actually liked or what looked good on my bod. I was invisible back then, and that’s exactly what I wanted. As someone who caught a lot of flak for being an overachieving, chubby, socially awkward kid, I wanted nothing more than to sink right into the wallpaper. And I dressed for camouflage. [emphasis added by me]

  The problem for me isn't the act of accepting a compliment, a simple thank you isn't that hard.  Its the idea that someone *wants* to compliment me.  After my little friends not so subtly telling me I wasn't pretty, I quite seriously wanted to be invisible.  Mean girls can't tell you mean things if you're invisible, right?  So I did my best not to call attention to myself, and if I did so, it was unfathomable that someone would actually compliment me sincerely.  

    Fast forward to last Tuesday.  I was feeling adventurous and proud of myself for fitting into this mini-skirt.  I bought it the summer of 2005 and haven't worn since maybe Spring 2006.  I gained weight and just hasn't fit since then, UNTIL I was able to wear it again last week.  It was a smidge chilly so I decided this outfit would be the last hoorah for tights.  And really, there is no other way I could wear this skirt to school if not for the tights.  So I got my killer outfit together and headed out.  And you know what?  Almost 10 different women complimented me on my necklace.  It was so bizarre.  
    I'm not 100% sure how this transformation happened or even when it started (other than the blog and blogging has helped), but at least now I'm ok with standing out, wearing a mini-skirt and getting compliments.  

The Details:
3/4 sleeve top: Nautica
Mini: Mango (you can have one of your very own here)
Tights: Hanes
Boots: Target
Necklace: Target 

Hiatus

You know how your favorite shows always have a mid-season hiatus?  Well, I'm taking one.  Mine should only be for the next week or so until I finish school stuff (exams and projects).  Then I'll be back.  I may schedule some posts so that my little spot of the internet doesn't get dusty, but reading and especially commenting on other blogs won't happen for a while. See you soon!

Today is my last day of classes

Yippee!

    Boys and girls, I survived.  Two in class exams, one take home exam and one project and I'll be done.  In fact, I'll be done by May 1.  Outfit post to follow, but I wanted to share my accomplishment with all of you, my blogging family.  

    I got this whole outfit from the consignment shop that I go to.  Both pieces cost me less than $7, tax included!  I about fell in love with this skirt when I saw it.  The dark pink background does a lot to keep the hot pink and sequins from standing out too much.  The color also keeps the skirt in a more "serious" tone without eliminating all the fun.  Did I mention that I got it for about $4?  Oh, and it's silk!

    You may actually recognize this top.  I happen to have it in two other colors, a light green and a light turquoise.  When I bought the original two last summer, I almost immediately regretted not getting it in brown and black.  Shortly after I bought the tops, they were no longer there.  I was sad.  So when I saw it at the consignment store I got *very* excited.  

VERY happy!

The Details:
Skirt: Liz Claiborne  
Sweater: LOFT
Heels: Nine West
Necklace: BR

More Linen!

    I know I've already told you about how much I love linen.  Well here's another example of my love for linen.  It really is just a great warm weather fabric. 










 





The Details:
Blouse: NY&Co
Skirt: Consignment Store
Flip Flops: Target (old!)
Necklace: gift

25 things to avoid? really?

    I just saw this and I don't agree with all of them.  Granted, some of them make sense (mom jeans anyone?) but, I mean, surely you all would tell me if I looked fat in my peasant skirt, shorts or frilly skirt,  right? 

The 25 Most Fattening Things You Can Wear

1. Frilly mini skirt

2. Overalls

3. Ballet flats

4. Gladiator sandals

5. Baby doll dress

6. Muumuu

7. Cargo pants

8. Capri pants

9. White pants

10. Mom jeans

11. Hot pants

12. Shorts of any kind

13. Bikini or tankini

14. Bustier

15. Turtleneck sweater

16. Patterned stockings

17. Sweat shirts

18. Peasant skirts

19. Sweat pants

20. Elastic pants of any kind

21. Acid wash jeans

22. Clunky white sneakers

23. Ankle strap shoes

24. Granny pants

25. Shoulder pads

Shopping Ban Update

    So--this whole shopping ban has been interesting.  I learned very quickly that under no circumstances am I allowed to go into the Target women's section.  I am REALLY bad about going in there, looking at the clearance rack and buying a few things.  Granted, everything I've bought from there in the past is awesome and I love it, but it isn't all 100% necessary. Luckily, Target did not tempt me as I thought it would these past four months.  
    What did tempt me, however, came as sort of a surprise.  The first of these is Talbots.  About a month ago I went in there hoping to find cute accessories.  Instead, I found a beautiful red wool skirt that was on super sale.  The problem was 1. I couldn't afford it and 2. I wouldn't be able to wear it for another 6 months.  Well, I bought it anyway and ended up returning it a week ago.  I KNEW better and yet, I was weak and let myself buy it.  The good news of course is that I returned it after analyzing my behavior.  At the time I just wanted a shopping fix and it left my shopping ban defenses weak.  Despite being a beautiful skirt, knowing that I wouldn't be able to wear it for another few months really convinced me into returning it.  

    The REAL temptation came in the form of the consignment shop.  Since I started making and selling my headbands through etsy, I've also been doing the same at a General Store here in town.  The general store happens to be in an old grain mill in which the consignment store also resides.  So every Saturday for the past month, I've been chilling out in front of the consignment store doing my headband stuff.  This has posed a problem because every time I've gotten bored, I have strolled into the consignment shop and browsed.  I have only bought one thing, the skirt pictured, but I was seriously tempted to buy a dress this past Saturday.  (I'm hoping that the dress will still be there next weekend, but who knows?)  The other problem posed by the Consignment store is a vintage mouton fur coat that I bought a couple of months ago.  I haven't been able to take a picture of it since I don't have a whole lot of occasions to wear a fur coat to, but when it came down to it, paying $60 for an investment piece such as this beautiful coat was well worth it. All in all, I think the shopping ban has been rather successful.  I stumbled a bit, but at the same time I've gotten to the point where I really consider whether the item I am considering purchasing is really worth the money I pay for it.  So yea, that is what I've learned.  Have you ever tried a shopping ban?  What did you take out of it? 


The Details:
Sweater: LOFT
Skirt: Banana Republic (consignment)
Pin: Consignment Store
Heels: Aldo
Necklace: Kathy

The Closet!

I am in need of clearing out my closet and have placed a number of items on sale at my new shop: The Closet.  

Happy Shopping!  

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mami!

Graduation Polyvore

    So--graduation is coming up and I've been thinking of a couple different options on what to wear.   My first option is linen pants, silk top, espadrilles and sparkly jewelry.  I didn't intend on making it all pinks and grays, but that's what Polyvore had for me. The second option is spring dresses.  At the moment I'm leaning towards option one.  At some point in time I know that I'll have to walk on grass, so the wedge of an espadrille would be great.  Also, I think pants + blouse is more flexible.  I feel like I'll be able to use the pieces and outfit more often and in more varied situations.  On the other hand, I'm not sure if the standard graduation wear is spring dresses.  Considering we're graduation from law school, I think dresses may be more optional than for graduating from undergrad.  But really, I'm not sure.  Anybody have any ideas or suggestions on what I should wear or where I should shop?

Graduation Take 1 by lawschoolfashionista featuring Banana Republic 

Graduation Take 2 by

good vibes and good times

    Thank you all for your good vibes yesterday!  I really appreciate all of your good thoughts and vibes and am grateful for all the wonderful bloggers I count as friends.  

    Yesterday was a beautiful day and I wanted to wear something comfortable and springy.  I grabbed this t-shirt knowing that it is probably one of the last flattering tops I own.  Its not even close to figure flattering, but since its comfortable and something I enjoy wearing, I've kept it.  I paired it with a skirt my friend Courtney gave me a few years ago.  Turns out that one of my law school friends also owns this skirt.  She came out of class asking me why I was wearing her skirt!   
 How do you decide when to get rid of items that you love?

When its this beautiful, its hard not to want to play!

The Details:
Top: ON
Skirt: NY&Co
Sandals: ON


I almost forgot!  Yesterday morning I got on the scale to see how much I weigh.  I don't do this often as 1. the battery is dying on the scale and 2. the number is seldom a good or necessary thing to know and 3. sometimes the number is downright depressing.  HOWEVER, yesterday I weighed in at 169.6 lbs.  This is the first time since my freshman year at Duke (03-04) that I have weighed less than 170!  I am SO excited.  Turns out that eating well and doing some exercise (which I've not been doing enough of unless you count running around with Bella) really do work!  (For frame of reference, the most I've weighed in the past several years is 198 and for most of this blog I've been somewhere between 169(yesterday!) and 178-ish.)   So yea, just wanted to share my accomplishment with you all.

Two in One!

    Last Wednesday I got up at my normal time and thought, "I'll wear that skirt I made and feel cute all day.  And hey! cute hair!" So I got up, got dressed, headed to school and survived my Secured Transactions class.  (it was touch and go there for a while)  Then at around 11 am I got an email basically saying, "Would you mind interviewing today?  How about 4 pm?"  So I got really excited, flustered and nervous in the span of 15 seconds.  Then I ran home to steam my suit, steam my blouse, do my hair and makeup, eat, and run back to school for another 2 classes before my interview.  (Mind you, I was half-freaking out the entire time).  

See? Happy girl blind to craziness of the day

    My interview turned out really really well.  Still no word yet, but I've got my fingers crossed.  I think my mom, grandmother and aunt all have candles lit too.  So, send good vibes, k?  Anyway, I'm going to take advantage of the fact that I had no choice but to suit up and change outfits to show you all my interview suit.  I got this suit the Christmas break of my first year of law school, so December 2007.  My parents made it part of my Christmas gift since Spring of your first year is the first time you can interview with possible future employers.  
    At the time we were in Puerto Rico so we headed down to Macy's in San Juan where there were TONS of suits on sale.  I think I tried on 30 different suits.  I was looking for a dark colored skirt suit on the belief that in order to interview for law jobs you have to wear a skirt suit.  I got lucky and found this beautiful navy blue pinstripe suit by Nine West.  I was initially concerned that the jacket would be too tight, but despite my boobs having grown since then, the jacket still fits.  It was on sale and originally included a tank top-like blouse.  I have since given that top away because even when I bought it, the girls just didn't want to be trapped in it.  It was pretty sad since it was a dark blue with light pink polka dots.  
I have since gone with this more classic and covered up white button down with very thin black pinstripes.  It has a more put together and professional feel.  Which is probably why anytime I put this suit on I feel confident.  I am suddenly "on," which by the way reminds me a lot of how Batman is just Bruce Wayne until he puts on the batsuit.   Add my pearls, hose and heels and I'm super-attorney-wannabe. New super hero?  I think so! 

HAD to include this one--I look tough, right?

The Details: (Outfit 1)
Skirt: made by me
Blouse: Express (old)
Heels: Aerosoles
Scarf: Target


The Details: (Outfit 2)
Suit: Nine West
Blouse: ON
Hose: Hanes
Heels: Aldo
Pearls: strung by me

Now and Then

I wore this last Thursday and totally felt like I was in the movie Now and Then.  The movie follows these four 12 year old girls during their last real summer of their childhoods.  The reason this outfit reminds me of the movie?  It takes place in the 70's, and wearing this scarf as a headband has a retro feel for me.    
    Notice that I'm actually wearing shorts?  These happen to be the only pair of non-athletic shorts that I own.  I bought them for when I was a summer camp counselor and have worn them a few times since to go to the zoo.  Not sure why, but I felt like pulling them out last week and so I wore them.  Doubt they'll make another appearance anytime soon unless we go to the zoo this summer.  I'm not much of a shorts fan.  I prefer skirts or dresses to shorts.  They have a similar feel to shorts but are much prettier and flattering on me.  Besides, you can get all twirly in a skirt, which is impossible in shorts.  :)


The Details:
Shorts: Merona Target brand (old)
Black top: men's fruit of the loom undershirt
Belt: McDonald's from BCN
Scarf: Target
Sandals: ON
Ice Cream cone: Drumstick :)

Loving Linen

    Wore this one last Thursday after I rediscovered this shirt in my clean clothes pile that I hadn't yet put away. I had actually been searching for this particular top since I read this article about the 5 hottest colors for spring.  I look terrible in pale colors so the champagne pink, lilac and light military green were out for tops.  However, coral and turquoise are most definitely in for me for tops.  Add in the wrench of my not being able to shop and I had to scour my closet for all things turquoise and coral.  Luckily I have an assortment of turquoise tops and jewelry, but I REALLY wanted to try the coral.  So here it is.  
    As an aside, this is the first time EVER I remotely care (or even *know*) about which colors are in for a particular season.  I heartily place the blame on blogging.  I mean, if it weren't for all of you and your spectacularly awesome blogs, I would never have even thought of it, so thanks for making me more obsessed.  *hugs*

    Anyway, so this skirt?  It's linen.  And I love it.  I've had this love affair with linen pieces and I hope it never stops.  I love the feel and the drape of linen.  I love how its oh so very summery.  I love how it fits somewhere between casual and dressed up.  I just love linen.  


The Details:
Top: LOFT (years and years ago!)
Skirt: ON (also years and years ago!)
Necklace: Kathy
Sandals: Target

Cheer up!

    Sometimes, when I'm feeling down and blue, I dress like a blob.  I go for comfy and non-form fitting and just plain meh.  Other times, I hope to cheer myself up with fun and colorful clothes and accessories.  This outfit is one of the latter ones.  I woke up feeling very meh that day last week.  So rather than throw on jeans and a t-shirt, I grabbed something just as easy but much more fun.  I've had this peasant skirt for several years now and I hope to have it for several more.  It is comfortable and just as easy to put on as jeans but way more stylish.  I paired it with orange because its spring and orange just felt right.  
    Same with the necklace.  Not wearing anything else that's blue, but the necklace just felt right up against this tank. Essentially, this outfit just felt right for an otherwise not right day.



The Details:
Skirt: ON
Top: ?
Necklace: LOFT
Sandals: Target (old)

Coming out (sort of)

   I am going to share with you all a little bit more of who I am today.  You see, last night, instead of doing homework or making dinner or doing my other ordinary Monday night things, I drove to Durham, NC with The Fiance in hopes of witnessing something special.  And we did.  Last night was the men's basketball NCAA final and it was a nailbiter.  A lot is being written about the game, so instead of going through the game (something I'm not so good at) I want to share with you my experience of the win as both a fan and alum (went to Duke for undergrad) in photographs.   

Benches burning

#1 indeed

Flower Power

     These are two outfits from a couple of weeks ago.  The lovely weather had just started and I wanted to welcome it in with some florals. 

Outfit 1 Details:

Brown Dress: BR

Pink Tank: ON

Belt: ON

Flower: Etsy

Flip Flops: ON

 Outfit 2 Details:
Skirt: Target (gift)
Shirt: H&M (oldie!)
floral tights: Hanes Outlet
Belt: target
Sandals: Aerosoles

 LOVE how this was a great hair day.  Going to have to go though my piles of product to make sure that the good hair stays through the new Spring weather. 

Sheer happiness

   This outfit is from a few weeks ago.  I had to run some errands and decided to try out my new necklace from Ann Taylor Loft. When it came down to it, the most natural pairing for me for a navy blue necklace was white.  And in particular this sheer blouse.  I've had this blouse for years and haven't really thought about it for a while.  I wore it several weeks ago because I REALLY wanted to channel spring and warm weather (even though there was snow on the ground).  I'm pretty sure I've worn it over bathing suits as a cover up, but the only way I've worn it in outfits is over tank tops.  I feel like this is such a great top: its sheer-ish, has stripes and a pretty cut, but I haven't figured out a way to wear it that isn't wearing it as a cover up.  Anybody have any ideas?  I'm thinking maybe a vest or sweater vest might work, but no matter what, because of the deep V I'm sure I'll have to layer a tank underneath.
    So this necklace.  Any guesses as to why I love this necklace?  Well there are several.  One is that it's blue, and blue is my favorite color.  Another is that it ties in the back so I can change the length of the necklace.   Going along with the tying in the back, I can make it into a pretty bow, and if my hair is up, the bow adds detail to the back of the outfit.  Yet another reason I like the necklace is that its sort of on trend.  The necklace is made of several strands and includes some chains wound through it.  Since I'm not a super trendy chick, I figured this would be a fun easy way of participating in a trend.  Also, the necklace was on clearance. :D 


 






The Details:
Jeans: ON
Blouse: American Eagle (OLD!)
Tank: ON
Necklace LOFT
Sandals: Aerosoles

Birthday Dinner

    Thursday night I took The Fiance to dinner and this is what I wore . . .

    I don't often get to dress up, so I took advantage of the occasion.  You may remember this dress from wearing it to work here when I paired it with tights, a cardi and a tank.  I'm so excited that its warm enough to wear this dress out and about and not have to layer under and over it.  Which way do you prefer?

The Details:

Dress: LOFT

Heels: Nine West (thrifted from my sister)

Clutch: Mike (she made it out of a place mat!)

Earrings: Blue Nile

Happy Birthday!

Dear Babe,

Happy Birthday!  I love you so much and am so grateful to be able to celebrate your birthday with you.

Love,

A-C

The 'Stang!

    
    This is my beloved's car.  It is a 1966 Mustang.  If you look closely, behind me, you can see my darling beloved and our adorable puppy.  I took these pictures yesterday after getting home from school and running some errands for the business.  The beloved offered to let me take pictures with his car, so of course I did!  I mean, it matches my belt!
    Speaking of the business.  It is as official as it gets (for the moment anyway).  I opened up a business banking account, downloaded quickbooks, set up my etsy page and created a Gmail address just for the business.  I'm currently running my operation out of my laptop, a rolling cooler that holds all of my ribbons and headbands and my desk w/my sewing machine on it.  I'm currently awaiting for my business checking card to come in (yay!).  It's pretty damn exciting.  OH!  And this past Saturday, I sold 10 headbands!  To people that don't know me!  It was pretty exciting.  I'm hoping to upload new pretty pictures for the etsy site sometime in the near future, so be on the lookout for that.  
    Back to the blog stuff.  So this dress.  I love it.  Know why?  Because of the pattern.  When I first saw the dress, I knew I just had to have it.  I was able to get it at a consignment store.  It was originally a size 18, WAAAAAAAAAAY too big for me.  I was able to haggle with the store owner to let me have it for $10 because I obviously had to have it fixed for me.  My neighbor, Grace, was able to slim it down and shorten it for me.  And now it's fit just for me.  Makes me ridiculously happy.  I added the belt for fit and flare and matched my earrings to the belt.  Makes me so happy. 
    Had to make a quick mention of these heels.  I adore them!  I've had them for close to three years.  They're aerosoles and are the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever had.  I can wear them all day everyday for a week and my feet won't hurt.  LOVE! 


The Details:
Dress: Talbots via consignment store
Belt: Target
Heels: Aerosoles via DSW
Earrings: X-mas gift
Mustang: $$$

***Don't forget!  If you mention the blog when you buy anything through my etsy site, you get a 25% discount on your order!***

ARG!

So even when I want to post I can't b/c of computer issues. . . . BOO!