Chameleon Style

It occurred to me this weekend while stuck in traffic on the freeway that this is the first time in my adult life that I just have one dress code in my life. That probably doesn’t make a lot of sense so let me expand on that thought. My clothes and my style for that matter have always been divided into several categories, clothes for school, clothes for work, clothes for relaxing after work, clothes for dating, clothes for partying, clothes for shopping, etc…. and I seemed to don a different personality based on what I was currently wearing. But right now I have an awesome job that has a very laid back dress code that allows me to wear pretty much anything I want from a suit to a shift dress and boots to jeans and a cotton top. Because of this I have noticed more and more overlap of what I wear to work is also what I shop in and what I wear to meet friends for coffee etc… I don’t date anymore really and my partying is virtually non-existent so I have been wearing the same clothes over and over again. Because of this, or maybe in combination with this and my age, my personal style has started to show thru more consistently.

VS

I’m not sure what you would call it however, I am west coast thru and thru (way more Marilyn than Jackie) laid back thanks to living in the Pacific Northwest for so long and I still have a bit of California in me, also a bit rocker with lace and girly details. I have always been a bit of a chameleon and can adapt easily to nearly any group or situation, but it always left me wondering who I truly was underneath it all. Now I have a better idea and while I will probably always watch the trends and adapt to the situation around me I can say with some confidence that my true style will come out in everything that I wear.

Christmas

Christmas has once again come and gone and instead of having that morning after remorseful feeling I am instead going to remember the memories that will be mine forever and the faces of the people I love and was able to spend the day with.  If I do start to feel sad I can always look back at the awesome stuff I got and remember how much I am loved.

Barbie purse/makeup bag from Costco

This is actually filled with makeup, in every imaginable combination of glitter and pink of course, but I will use it as a purse for sure. Originally I was gonna give the stuff inside to somebody's daughter but I am having a lot of fun playing with it instead.  Just because I am getting older doesn't mean I have to grow up.



Cupcake/cake carried from Costco


I love baking, especially cupcakes and cakes for my family and friends but every time I bake cupcakes I run into the difficulty of trying to transport them, most carriers have low tops (hard when they are decorated) and only carry 24 at a time. Now that I have this I can carry 36 fully decorated cupcakes, or a tall cake and lots of cookies, all without worry.

My brother in law and his father are going to put a new roof on my house for me as soon as the snow goes away. It was my brother in laws idea to write it on the gingerbread house and present it like this, totally creative, he really is going to make a great teacher.

I am a self professed linens snob. I love high thread count sheets and big soft fluffy over sized towels, but then again who doesn't? I got a brand new sheet set, with 4 pillow cases, and new towels for the bathroom. I am excited to use them, soon hopefully.

My family knows me so well, I truly am blessed.



Glitter and the Nutcracker

Friday night I had the opportunity to take my entire family, all 8 of us (minus my 3 year old nephew) to the opening night of the Nutcracker Ballet. Needless to say the women were more excited to go than the men were, Dad wasn’t bad as he appreciates that type of thing, probably something to do with learning to appreciate culture with age but "C" and my brother in law were less than happy. To my delight and everybody else's surprise "A" really got into it as well, the 1st half is all story telling and sword fighting so we really liked that but the 2nd half is a lot mor ballet and he started to fade a little but over all not bad for a 8 year old boy.

As soon as I knew we were going my mind immediatley went to what would I wear? I know it is probably just my little girl coming thru but is there anything better than opening night of the Nutcracker during the Christmas season? This clearly deserved a new outfit and as soon as I found these great shoes I knew my search was over. I went simple with the rest of the outfit to keep the emphasis on the shoes, dark wash skinny jeans a gold dolman sweater and I was ready to go. They are the same style as the black ones (mentioned here) but with glitter instead of sequins. Gold heels and the Ballet, two things that definitely go well together.

Miu Miu Naplack Booties

I first saw these almost 2 years ago in a magazine spread and ever since then have noticed them popping up in the most random places. The most recent was today on Emily at Cupcakes & Cashmere, I follow her daily, she wears these pretty frequently and today they popped up once again. While they are by Miu Miu ("affordable" line by Prada) I totally think I could justify the price tag of $625 but they are an older style and are completely sold out everywhere. http://www.thelook4less.net/ also featured these along with their more affordable version back in 2008, which are completely sold out as well. My only hope now is to watch Ebay and other sites like that and hope by some miracle somebody decides to sell a pair.




Miu Miu Naplack Booties

 
Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Shanty { the blog }

There are certain blogs that I check on a daily basis and while some of them do do daily updates others are more sporadic, The Shanty blog is one of those. When I check it and a new blog post pops up its like a unexpected little indulgence. I get to  spend a few minutes admiring the great products and  every time I end up mentally planning out my shopping list for the next time I head over to Newport and am able to go into the store. If I were to list out everything that I bought there because I saw it first (like the awesome jacket & tapestry bracelet) on the blog it would be a really  long post.

Twisted-Silver Tapestry Bracelet

Shanty { the blog }: some of our favorite decorations....: "sweet little bird vintage style tin canisters...4 different styles and size...set them in the kitchen or under the tree love this for a c..."

Their most recent post is no different, I knew right away that I was going to have to have both of these items for my retro inspired house.

vintage style tin canisters

more vintage! 7x10 tin prints...same as the canisters

Check out their site and you will see what I am talking about but don't say I didn't warn you when you add it to your favorites list.

Bathroom floor, done.

Ok, so the tile for the bathroom floor finally came in and we installed it last night. It still needs to be completely grouted but at least you can get an idea of what it will look like. We are taking this weekend off to go to A's Hockey tournament but hopefully it will be finished very soon.

Uggs

While I agree with the rest of the fashion world that Uggs have definitely outlived their heyday (except here in the Pacific Northwest where people just cant seem to get enough of them), I did find several new styles in their fall/winter 10’ line that are very exciting. With all the boot options this fall I was a little overwhelmed and was looking for just the right boot that would go with everything and do everything, I know I know aren’t we all. I had looked all over town and thru all of my favorite online options before I stumbled upon these lovely little gems at Nordstrom.com, the UGG® Australia 'Lynnea' Ankle Boot. They come in several colors and in leather or suede and can be worn both up or folded down. The catch, they are sold out everywhere, including from the manufacturer, in fact they are currently selling on Ebay for about $50 – 75 over retail. I hemmed and hawed for about a week before deciding to just give it a shot, I called my favorite shoe salesmen at Nordstrom and had him search for me. Sure enough of the 3 left in the company (or at least that’s what their computer said) he was able to find me the color and size I wanted in Minnesota. They are being shipped to me as we speak and hopefully I will love them as much in person as I do online. The other thing is hopefully my Scottish blood won’t get the better of me and I don’t sell them on Ebay, we will have to wait and see.

 On a side note, my extremely fashionable cousin bought a pair of Miz Mooz that are practically identical. I was telling her about my awesome find over Thanksgiving and she broke these out to show me. Great minds really do think alike.