the twirly blueberry

I love looking at other OOTD blogs for inspiration. Colors, textures, proportions -- you get the idea. There are so many good looking ladies out there who know how to put together a knockout look day after day (just check out everyone on my "READ" list!) that it's almost ludicrous. How do you gals do it? I mean, seriously?

But the point is that while I love looking at blogs for inspiration, I typically don't set out to get exactly what the blogger is wearing. Except in a few cases.

This is one of them.

When I saw Rosa over on Love at First Shop rocking this dress, I think my eyes went like this:

O____O

Hello, super cute! And it kind of reminds me of the Star Trek dresses from the original series, except not as scandalously short and with a fun flared skirt (which I like to think means I'm of a higher rank on the Enterprise) (maybe a commodore) (or a sultan).

If only the lighting and my hair had cooperated better on the day I wore this dress. *shakes fist*

dress, zara

tights, merona (target)

booties, seychelles

bangle, j.crew

ring, j.crew

Chipped nail polish ahoy!

let's bring back the sweater vest

I love a good sweater vest. Granted, I've now only owned two of them in my life, but I do enjoy those two. Er, well, I now only enjoy one of them because I accidentally shrunk the other in the dryer.

Damn.

Decided to break out some colorful jeans too for some extra pep, and I did rather enjoy how festive my legs looked. It's strange because I have 3 pairs of colored jeans -- red, purple, and turquoise. But I can never get myself to wear the turquoise ones out of the house. They just always read too much like pajama bottoms, but I'm not sure why. I mean, why are red and purple jeans okay, but turquoise ones pajama-y?

shirt, j.crew

sweater vest, gap

jeans, zara

belt, mom's

loafers, f21

ring, novica

For those who are interested, my nail polish is OPI ("The Thrill of Brazil") with a swipe of Essie ("Mezmerise").

Also, do any of you ever get annoyed whenever something you order online comes shipped in a box that's way too big for it? I mean, what a waste of space and resources! The biggest offender of this used to be J.Crew in my experience, but Barnes & Noble took the cake recently. Check it out:

Purple Week, Day One: purple + neon yellow

Huzzah, my purple outfit for Day One! And what better purple-y thing to start off with than my favorite purple blazer? (technically, it's my only purple blazer, but work with me here, people)

blazer, zara

top, j.crew collection

skinny jeans, j.crew

flats, urban outfitters

bangle, kate spade

ring, coach

Of course, I'm also starting Purple Week off with my favorite color combination of purple + yellow, though in this iteration, it's purple + a very neon yellow. Purple and yellow are almost at opposite ends of the color wheel, and I believe that it's this contrast that makes the combination work so well. It's unexpected, but yet it meshes. Kind of like watermelon and salt, or Jim Carrey and a film role where he doesn't make his butt talk. You know, that kind of unexpected pleasantness of contrasts.

Who knew, right?

Want to join in on the purple goodness? Send your outfit in to amy.kelinda@gmail.com!

purple and pecan

Continuing the purple love today with my trusty plum blazer. I never realized just how fun a colored blazer could be until I picked this one up from Zara a few weeks ago. As mentioned in yesterday's post, J.Crew has some new fun hued blazers in their fall line, and I am just starry-eyed about adding some more colors to my blazer collection. The Hacking Blazers and velvet Schoolboy Blazers are calling my name! But can I afford both in every single color at full price? All signs point to "Sure, if you don't mind living off a box of Cheerios for six months." So, J.Crew, help me and other JCAs out here and roll out a 20% off new arrivals promotion soon, please. Pretty, pretty please?

blazer, zara
cami, j.crew
cords, j.crew
glitter flats, steve madden
gold bangle, kate spade
ring, j.crew

I ought to just do a "Purple Week" one of these days. Maybe next month? You guys could join me! I'll fill you in on the details once I have them sorted out...

And finally, for all of you who love Pixar and film scores as much as I do, here's a little treat:




Now don't tell me that your eyes didn't get just a wee bit watery hearing the Finding Nemo, Ratatouille (my favorite Pixar film!) and Up themes at the end. *snifffffffff*

mucho maxi

I snapped some photos of my outfit yesterday, but I looked decidedly cracked out of my mind in all of them (well, more than usual, anyway) so I decided to not post them. Instead, here's an outfit from a few days ago...

shirt, gap
cami, cotton on
skirt, zara
belt, mom's
ring, f21
bangle, kate spade

I'm living in maxi skirts this summer. They're just so easy to wear! Not to mention that they are the most logical choice for me when it comes to enduring the typical triple-digit temperatures of Houston. I mean, whenever I hear that the high is going to be 110 degrees, my first instinct on wardrobe options is "NAKED," so it's excellent that I have an alternative to that.

A while back, I did a guest DIY post for one of my absolute favorite bloggers (Infinite Whimsy), and there was a good response to my crafting skillz (with a 'z' which is how you know it's for real). Unfortunately, I don't craft all day, every day, so I can't do craft-type DIY posts regularly. But, I do create different and new dishes/desserts on a regular basis, so I will include some recipe successes whenever I come across them and count them as pseudo-DIYs. Sound good?

Today, I present to you one of my new favorites light lunches/dinners -- asparagus with a fried egg and pecorino cheese:


I got the recipe from Steamy Kitchen, and you can find it here. The only changes I made is that I used pecorino cheese instead of parmesan because it's what I had on hand. The result was still outrageously delicious for something that's only 3 ingredients, if you don't include the salt and pepper.

four eyes

The sty on my left eyelid has shrunk down to near invisibility, but it's still a little tender, so I think I'll be going contact lens-less until I know everything's completely okay with my peepers. I mean, someone told me that wearing your contact lenses while you have a sty could lead to an eye infection, which in turn could lead to "scarring of the retina." I know that's like saying that an infected paper cut on your thumb could lead to the amputation of your forearm, but still -- "scarring of the retina"? No thanks.

silk cami, j.crew
purple blazer, zara
skirt, f21
sandals, aldo
necklace, aerie
ring, f21
bangle, kate spade
polish, 'sun kissed' by sally hansen

Who doesn't like a good side braid? My hair is layered, though, so I needed to tame it with no less than 38947 pins and clips, but still -- effortless! Kind of.

Also, this picture made me realize I need some color on my lips on a day-to-day basis. Any suggestions for a natural lip color? I don't do glossies, for what it's worth.

grape blazer ahoy

I was browsing through Zara last weekend when I spotted this purple blazer. Thinking it'd be good for a laugh, I put it on and thought about how amazingly crazy it would look with matching purple pants. A real Grimace-of-McDonalds-fame-joins-Miami-Vice ensemble, if you follow me.

But instead of laughing, I looked at my reflection and went, "Hmmmm... this could work." Strange how sometimes things that seem hilariously ill-advised on the hanger can actually surprise you when you put it on. Now I wonder how I ever doubted the allure of this sweet grape-hued jacket.

blazer with lapel, zara
long and lean jeans, gap
yellow print cami, fossil
wedge sandals, lauren by ralph lauren
gold ring, f21
silver ring, from australia
gold bangle, kate spade

Have any of you guys ever saw what you thought was a tragedy on a hanger only to discover that it's anything but once you put it on?

Also, I would like to point out how amazing it is that this outfit features no J.Crew at all, especially since 75% of my staple wardrobe consists of J.Crew pieces. Branching out!

orange punch, part 2

If I just had 2 more orange skirts, I'd be able to make this an all orange week. Alas, I only have this one and yesterday's, though I'd wager that's 2 more orange skirts than most people own.

silk feather blouse, fossil

infinity cardigan, j.crew

long crepe skirt, zara

woven belt, mom's

gold bangle, kate spade

monocle necklace, gift

ring, f21

This outfit isn't anything entirely new. I've worn different versions of this quite a few times now, but I still enjoy it! I love a good maxi skirt, and this one has to be my favorite by far. It's so wonderfully swishy!

And, ahem, note to the Zara inside the Galleria -- please stock your store with some of the wonderful goodies I've been spying on the website. Like this, this, and this. Please and thank you.

And now, for today's 30 Day Song Challenge pick --

Day 4: A Song That Makes You Sad




This is easily one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite musicians, but boy does it give me the sads. But what do you expect from a song called "When I'm Down"?

From Chris Cornell's strongest solo venture to date, right after Soundgarden called it quits in 1999, the song features a more jazz-y sound than his usual crunchy grunge. It's also one of the damned most vocally challenging songs I've ever heard, which isn't surprising coming from a man who has a four-to-five octave range. A piano only has 7 octaves. Now, I don't mean he does sustained diva belting, but rather that the notes and tempo are tricky! And this is coming from someone who trained with a vocal coach for a while (but don't get your hopes up. I'm on a Pierce-Brosnan-in-Mama-Mia level of terrible now).

I saw him perform it live last month. It sounds just as sparse and gorgeous in person as it does on the record.

Now, indulge me -- what song makes you sad and why?

a citron return

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd we're back in action. Whew! I'm still hoping to add a few menu buttons to the sidebar to clear some of that clutter up, but in the meantime, enjoy the welcome change from my previous winter-themed blog header!

To answer some curious inquiries, the header graphic is a drawing I did of my beloved Rebecca Minkoff "Morning After" bag, with a handsome little lovebird perched on top. I scanned it in to my computer, colored it in Photoshop, and then presto! A snappy new graphic is born.

And now, the OOTD:

daisy eyelet blouse, j.crew

long crepe skirt, zara

infinity cardigan, j.crew

woven belt, mom's

sandals, mia

bangles, kate spade + from china

nest ring, etsy

monocle necklace, gift

I have the hardest time wearing this blouse because of the color. In fact, the last time I wore it was two years ago. Yeesh. It's a bright citron, like an old highlighter, so I never know what to pair it with. On this day, I decided to just go bold and play that puppy up with an orange-y red skirt. Topping it with the long gray cardigan helped to tone it down and prevent the ensemble from looking too 'Lady Ronald McDonald's Amazing Technicolor Outfit.'

At least I hope so.

A SCOOP OF NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM

Another post-and-run today because apparently our building is having a fire drill today and my boss decided that we should all just go home instead of waiting around outside. I have no complaints about that, but it also means that I've got to cram my normal 8 hours of work into 6 hours. YEEP.

beaded tee, j.crew

jackie cardigan, j.crew

pleated skirt, zara

tights, anthropologie

tasseled loafers, f21

woven belt, mom's

gold bangle, kate spade

starburst ring, target

I've recently become re-enamored with Zara. I honestly had forgotten that store even existed because it's hidden in a part of the Galleria (my shopping mall love) that I never visit. But after stumbling on Chloe's (of chloetonic) blog about a year ago and seeing all the wonderful ensembles she puts together with Zara's wares, I decided to reacquaint myself with the store. And thus the flame was rekindled.

I went last weekend in search of a long, pleated skirt that has been taunting me on the website for weeks, but it wasn't in the store. GRR. This skirt allayed my initial disappointment, though. I love the bold stripes and the thick fabric -- it even escaped wrinkle-free after 8 hours of me sitting on my bum at work! If that's not impressive, I don't know what is.