Bohemian Black Lace

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I never quite understood the allure of a little black dress until I bought this one.

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What is it about wearing black that makes one feel different?

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I hardly ever wear black, because I like a lot of color in my wardrobe.

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I am thinking that was a poor decision.

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Because what was preventing me from just adding a pop of color? I received this beaded necklace for my birthday. I love it paired with the black lace.

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This Free People Lorettas Dress was a steal with my birthday discount combined with the sale price. Unfortunately, I snagged the last one (see title of post). I think this one is very similar.

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I forgot my gnome, so I made one with some rocks and twigs.

But who’s looking at the gnome?

Because, those shoes?!

They were the best sale popback I have ever scored at Anthropologie (they were more than 75% off). They are Chie Mihara’s Corridor Booties. I am in love.

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My husband said to me, “Um, I think that dress is see-through.”

To which I smiled. Because, yes, it is see-through, but it came with a beige slip underneath that you cannot really see because it kind of matches my skin tone.

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I didn’t tell him that, though. Gotta keep him on his toes.

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He eventually figured it out. Just like I have now figured out I need more black clothes in my wardrobe.

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Do you own a lot of black clothing? Do you have a little black dress?

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Because I loved the feeling this dress gave me, I now own five.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Comic Con 2014 Part II

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Yesterday’s post covered a lot of the costumes, but there is still more to tell about Comic Con.

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There was a cool display at The Lego Booth, as usual.

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There was tons of elaborate Walking Dead stuff. They had a huge set-up that looked like Terminus.

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And a small set of lego-like Walking Dead creations.

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I bought some jewelry.

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And my daughter purchased that dress from the video game Portal (she is required to wear a tank top underneath).

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My favorite part of Comic Con is definitely, without a doubt, the free books. All of the big fantasy/science fiction publishers are there and they give away so many books for free. It is amazing. There were even more in a separate bag that we missed photographing.

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My husband surprised me with a really cool piece of art from Rhode Montijo. It is a little hanging tree sculpture with our initials on it.

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There were amazing displays.

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I caught a glimpse of Sean Astin, but did not meet him again like last year. Closure and all of that.

More costumes by cool people. I love how happy that older dude is in his Ghostbuster costume. It made me smile:

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This fox costume was started by its wearer way back in October. The back of her ear is covered in flowers. It was really cool.

Her friend spoke for her when I asked her questions.

I could not help but quip to them, “So, the fox says nothing?”

Crickets.

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This woman found this man sitting and conducted an interview with him. I believe it was about what he thought could change on their ship. It was a very long interview. They both were excited about it.

I love that like-minded people can find other like-minded people at Comic Con and relate on a level that they would not generally get to in our close-minded society.

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I got to try the new Monster Hunter game coming out next year. I cannot wait! By the way, this photo is edited. My giant pimple needed to be toned down. If only I could do that in real life.

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My son loved the Minecraft display.

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If you went to Comic Con, would you dress up? What would you go to see? To do?

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By the way, I think this picture says more than anything I could compose in words about Comic Con.

And, yes, that is totally the face I would make if I saw a shark flying through the air.

I’m a Monster Hunter, remember? Sharks are nothin’.

Comic Con 2014

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We went to Comic Con on Thursday and Sunday. My brain still feels split. Into a million pieces and stamped on. So does my back. And my feet. And my heart.

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Comic Com is a jolt on all of your senses. It can be pretty much whatever you make of it, but it will always be hot, smelly and crowded. There are panels to go to to hear your favorite authors, actors or actresses speak or to preview a new show coming out. Even the latest movies. Because we always go with our children, we never get to see that side of it. But in a few years we are anxiously awaiting those scenarios.

Everyone associates Comic Con with costumes. There are amazing ones and ones that make you question the wearer. I saw a girl on Sunday wearing a “dress” (more like a tank top) with no underwear. Half of her bare bottom was hanging out of her skirt. I saw a professional photographer actually get onto the floor and take a picture up her skirt (with her permission!!!!!). But I did not take a picture of that. I took ones of the tamer costumes. People spend all year making some of these:

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I ended up wearing a “normal” outfit with Harry Potter jewelry. I wore my Harry Potter earrings and Harry Potter bracelet. I did not have it in me this year to go full on. I did however, pose for my favorite video game, “Monster Hunter.”

The funny thing about that is, wait. We have to rewind to thirty minutes earlier when we had lunch:

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Let’s pause again (if you are feeling disoriented from this disjointed story, welcome to Comic Con!). We have to rewind one more time, because before we even sat down for lunch, there was a group of beautiful singing vampires outside of the restaurant. They all broke into song and there were about thirty of them. It was really cool.

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And they were all gorgeous. With glowing red eyes. And capes.

I need a cape.

And to be twenty again. Is there a costume for that?

Back to the story:

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I ordered a carafe of wine. I had about two and a half glasses.

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Evidenced here.

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So, when I got in line to take my Monster Hunter picture, I was lovin’ on Comic Con pretty hard. There was a group of four girls ahead of me waiting to pose with the fake monster. I was taking it very seriously. I said to the closest girl, “Are you ready for the fight?!”

And she turned around confused. Because what fight? We were about to pose with a foam sword and pretend to hit a plastic dragon.

But I spotted her warrior costume so before she could respond, I said to her, “Yea y’re.” But it was said like Ernest’s cousin in a long mountain droll.

The poor girls left the line.

They were obviously not ready for the fight. Or Comic Con Jenni.

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By the way, I was ready.

And, I won.

I met Patrick Rothfuss again later that day. He had no idea I had defeated a monster. It was an embarrassing encounter. I wish I could blame the wine but it was six hours later, so no wine effects were to be had. I will recap that one separately. He was lovely. I was a mess.

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This is how I feel after the end of a day spent at Comic Con, too, Dude.

Tomorrow I will recap the fun products, what I purchased, and some more costumes (there were just too many pictures I wanted to share for one post). Have you ever been to Comic Con? Would you go? But most importantly, “Are you ready for the fight?”

July 2014 Clothing Purchases

I am currently working on my Comic Con posts so that I can get them up starting tomorrow and also my funny but mortifying story of seeing Patrick Rothfuss again. I was not going to post anything today while I worked on those, but I decided to share the things I purchased in July instead. Because I always enjoy seeing, reading or hearing about other people’s finds.

July was my birthday month so I was able to splurge much, much more than usual. The great news is I did not spend my own money on most of these purchases because almost all of my birthday presents were gift cards to my favorite stores (thank you family and friends!). Plus, I had birthday discounts and 20% off sale purchases going on when I acquired a lot of these items. And I still have funds left over on a gift card to Anthropologie (which I am saving for the River Fade Dress when it goes on sale). I have become an exclusively sale shopper (I have to be with a kid heading to college in three years), so some of the items that I list are probably sold out but you might still find them in a store if you call customer service with the style number. I am still hoping for a price adjustment in the next two weeks on some of these things as long as they get further cut.

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First, I purchased some accessories that I had in my wishlist for what seemed like forever as I patiently waited for them to go on sale: The Caterpillar Earrings (these are brown and not green in real life), Tassel Bloom Hoops in purple, Anthropologie Monogram Bangle (this did turn my wrist green), and Free People Kantha Clips. Of those four accessories my favorite is the Kantha Clips. I love anything Kantha and these are no exception. I actually own three different pairs.

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I also picked up the Anthropologie Rainforest Belt now that it is such an amazing sale price. It reminds me of dragon scales. Just call me Khaleesi.

No, seriously.

Oh wait, that’s just what I make my kids do. Don’t worry, it ‘s not all of the time… Just when they want dinner… Or food… Or a ride.

It’s tough being the kids of The Mother of Dragons.

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My Modcloth Twofer Honey Dress that I styled here with my honeycomb earrings was such a cool addition to my wardrobe. The dress just got cut to 70% off! I think it is now a great price.

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I am so happy with both the Free People Loretta High Neck Dress and the Free People Late Summer Love Dress (styled here). My husband’s very favorite dress (and outfit post showcasing it which is going up later this week) in the world is now the Loretta High Neck Dress. So I love it all the more now. Plus, now I know what to wear when I need somethin’. Not that the Mother of Dragons ever wants for anything.

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Anthropologie’s Melanie V-Neck Dress that I got for $20, down from $138 was one of my best scores.

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Anthropologie’s Talisman Peasant Dress was 75% off after my birthday discount, but I still debated on keeping it. I was unsure about the fit, but when my daughter saw me try it on she could not stop gasping about its awesomeness, so now I am definitely wearing that teenage-conversation-starter everywhere.

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The Anthropologie Salta Shirtdress (I thought this was awful on until I cut off the extra sleeves) was a great popback price. I love the dress with the alteration I made.

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And this Anthropologie Laced Chambray Popover was too good of a price at $20 to pass up.

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I waited for the Anthropologie Sunpass Dress for months, too, (after reviewing it here) and when it hit almost 75% off, I pounced. I am still hoping this gets cut one more time because I am greedy. (Edited on 8/3/2014 to add it did get one more cut! Wheeeee!).

Those dragons need to bring Momma some gold. Isn’t that the good thing about dragons? Don’t they hoard gold? Mine are slackin’.

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Last but not least is my beloved Free People New Romantics Rio Dress. I originally tried on this dress here, but it was much too expensive for me. Every morning since I reviewed this dress in March, I would wake up and check the website to see if it had gone on sale (I am a patient stalker). Last week I noticed a review I must have missed where the reviewer spoke of buying the dress on sale in the store. Free People’s clothing prices do vary from store to website.

I called a store that the website had listed as having it in stock as soon as it opened (if you know me, you know this terrified me. I never call to order something. I get nervous, slur my words and inevitably get the sweaty shakes, but I did it for this dress. And guess what? They were really nice to me. I think it had nothing to do with my dragons roaring in the background). I bought both colors because both dresses purchased through the store were still 30% less than just one dress would have been retail price. Plus the store I ordered them from did not charge me tax or shipping. Score! Not since my beloved Anthropologie Vanga Kantha Dresses have I been this excited about a dress. I still have not received them, but I am hopeful they will arrive soon.

Whew! Thank goodness for birthdays! It was so fun to stretch my gift cards by being frugal and buying multiple items that were on generous sale markdowns with them instead of just one or two items. I only had one black dress in my closet before this month but I saw this post from the wonderful and incredibly witty fashion blog, Suzanne Carillo Style Files, and it made me want more black little numbers. I knew I wanted to add some to my clothing collection (a much nicer way of saying, gluttonous pile of excess) with my wonderful, generous presents. I am doubtful August will lead to any purchases for myself because the majority of the budget will go to the children’s back-to-school finds, and alas, my birthday gift cards are almost gone.

Do you own one or more black dresses? Do you buy more in your birthday month (gotta love those discounts)? Are you waiting for anything to hit sale? Do you ever stalk something for months (I’m hopeful no one will say me)?

*this post contains some affiliate links. Clicking on a link on this post may result in a small commission to feed my dragons for this site.

Photos are from Anthropologie, Free People and Modcloth.