January 11, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Two-lle Sisters

When I was a little girl my parents would reiterate over and over that one day, when my sister Mandi and I grew up, we would be friends.

I felt that was about as likely as finding a yellow brick road outside of our house.

And believe me… I looked.

We are four years apart. The same amount of time that separates my own two children. But it must have been a gender thing. Or a personality thing. Either way we could barely be in the same room together growing up.

But grow up, we did.

And my parents were right.

Don’t ever, ever tell them that I said so, though.

Because having a sister is the best thing ever. I love Mandi with all of my heart.

Although there is one thing that is irksome. Her hair. It is naturally that color and I have to dye mine. Sigh. Lucky girl.

But editing these pictures was the most difficult task I have had with this blog yet. It is hard enough getting a good enough picture to post on the internet of one person, but two people? Impossible.

I love the picture of my sister here. Me? Not so much.

But isn’t that what being sisters is all about? Teaching one to be less selfish. To think of others. To learn to share.

Nah. It’s about having an insane amount of fun.

We could not stop laughing at these gnomes. She mentioned somethin’ about their looks. It had me in hysterics. It was a very unprofessional photo shoot.

Did I say we grew up? Scratch that.

The cameraman was second guessing his ~~marital partner choice~~ “career” choice.

Thanks Mandi for taking pictures with me! I love you! And hey, I am missing my pink gnome. I don’t suppose you know anything about that… Just kidding. I think it ran away. Too much sisterly love… Or gnome jokes.

Do you have siblings? Do they make you laugh like nobody else? Isn’t it wonderful?

Outfit details:

On me: Free People Tutti Fruitti Slip (sold out, similar here and previously worn here), Anthropologie Pullover, vintage boots, Anthropologie earrings, World Market Bracelet

On Mandi: Anthropologie Puckered Placket Turtleneck (old), BCBG tulle Skirt (sold out, similar here), Black Fringe Booties, Anthropologie Bracelet

January 6, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Sunny Skirt

When I first saw this skirt at Anthropologie, I fell in love with the Otomi-like pattern (now sold out but my llama skirt is slightly similar).

The price was much too much for me, but it eventually went to more than 75% off and I was able to bring it home. The reviews had stated that it was very small in the waist. But I have big hips and a small waist so it sounded like it would work for me.

And it did!

And I was happy.

Because I could still breathe.

The waistband pattern is the best part of the whole skirt. It has small little colorful animals running around. How could anyone be sad with animals tickling their waist?

I have spoken here before of my husband’s love of pencil skirts. I like that this skirt has the shape he loves and the pattern I adore.

Let’s talk about these fringed booties. I adore these booties. They were inexpensive and I love the way the fringe moves when I walk. They, like the skirt, make me happy. I will be wearing them a lot this season.

When I wear this skirt the song, “Happy,” plays in a loop in my head.

The necklace was a sweet gift from Simply Livly on Etsy. I love the colorful fabric wrapped beads.

Do you have theme songs for your clothes? Do have a piece that makes you “Happy”? What kind of animal would you say is on my skirt? I am trying to figure it out.

*this post contains affiliate links. Clicking on or purchasing from certain links will provide a small income for ~~“Happy” thoughts~~ this blog.

This post was edited using the app VSCOcam’s C1 Filter at level 3.

December 15, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Bus-ting Out The Plea-ts

Sorry for the unexpected blog break. I try to stay consistent, but sometimes life takes over. I absolutely had to clean my house. I mean had to. As in: set aside hours to get it holiday finished. Which is so mundane, but true. And then we went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market on Sunday (recap tomorrow). It was a busy and fun weekend. I hope you had a beautiful weekend and feel refreshed for this week! I know I do!

Okay. I hope I am “busting out the pleats” and not “busting out of the pleats.” One word makes a huge difference.

Thankfully this dress is very forgiving. In fact, I have decided this shall be my dress I wear any time I want to really make a meal out of a night.

Not on Thanksgiving. Surprisingly, I never really eat a lot on Thanksgiving. I like my turkey breast. Dry. Not dry, but devoid of gravy. A smidgen of mashed potatoes. Also devoid of gravy. And one roll.

That is it.

All that I eat on the biggest eating day of the year.

I was a very picky eater as a child and on this day of traditions I have never been able to break from the food rules I set in place as a three year old. I take traditions very seriously.

Oh. And one slice of chocolate pie. Hold the whipped cream.

Maybe I am leaving out the bottle of wine.

It doesn’t count.

It’s liquid.

And my three year old self would not understand.

So, this is my eating out for a nice dinner dress. I have never been an order a salad girl. I’ll take the baked potato, steak and the dessert please. And, no you may not have a bite. I didn’t wear this dress for nothin.

The swing shape coupled with the pleats is as easy as it gets. I can see this dress looking good on a multitude of body types. You just have to embrace it for what it is.

A swing dress.

It is supposed to swing.

Away from the body.

I like the gold buttons on the back and the sleeves. It is a sweet little detail. I paired the dress with my Anthropologie Fanned Feather Necklace I purchased on Black Friday from Anthropologie during their sale (now sold out online, but similar earrings are still available).

I really like black paired with brown and the gold on the necklace matches the gold on the buttons of the dress.

I ordered my dress on Black Friday directly from the designer, Dear Creatures, for 40% off their price making it a fantastic price. Anthropologie also carries it and calls it Pleated Millie Dress. It is now sold out in black at Dear Creatures. However, I have seen it keep popping back at Anthropologie. I own it in baby blue, too, but it is just not as good. I definitely recommend the black version.

I love this dress. As I have stated, the dress is forgiving.

I am not.

I am writing this in bed next to a snoring husband who fell asleep in the middle of the zombie movie we were watching together.

In the middle.

Of. a zombie. Movie.

In the middle.

Of. the. night.

He’ll be pleating for my forgiveness in the morning.

And you know what?

I might have room left in my heart. And in this dress… to give it to him.

Maybe.

In exchange for pie…

And I’m only craving humble.

P.S. Now closed: ~~Please do not forget to enter My Giveaway. It ends at 9:00 p.m. PST tomorrow night.~~ : ). Even if you do not enter, the comments have been making me happy cry all week. I love reading the comments. It has brought me indescribable amounts of joy this week. If you are feeling down or want to feel inspired, I recommend reading them. And thank you if you contributed to those comments this week. My heart overflows for you.

December 8, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

“…The Little Dog Laughed…”

I put this outfit on to go on a date with my husband this past weekend. I picked it out especially for him, because he usually likes short skirts and I thought he would like the cute dog pattern. It was a slight departure from my usual baggy style. I was excited to show him my outfit. But the moment he saw this, his face scrunched up and it took on the look of severe inner contemplation. I suddenly felt very self conscience.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like this?” I asked.

He didn’t answer at first, just kind of studied my outfit.

“It’s really short,” he finally mustered.

Okay. He is sounding kind of mean. He is actually the nicest guy in the world. In fact just the other day, I saw him smiling and asked him, “Why are you so happy?” And he said, “How could I not be happy? I’m married to you.” For real.

So, I need to tell the real story about his reaction. It was not his fault. The poor guy was in shock. You see, I am leaving out a kind of important part. The first time he actually saw this, I was sitting on the ottoman in the living room putting on my shoes.

He was behind me on the couch.

When I stood up, I did not bother to do so in a ladylike manner. So, I kind of, sort of… All right… I completely mooned him. On accident, of course.

And I definitely would be more careful in public.

Well, hopefully.

But the deed was done. I knew I would be pulling on the skirt all night in order to not have any sort of repeat of offenses. And I wanted to enjoy my night and not worry about a possible wardrobe malfunction.

So, I changed… After we went down the street and took pictures of this outfit, of course. It would have been a shame to not have any evidence of my crime.

After I changed, my husband looked confused. “I really liked that outfit. Why aren’t you wearing it?”

This made me giggle.

I will post what I actually ended up wearing later this week, but I still like this outfit. Have you ever changed because of an outfit malfunction? Do you like fun patterns as much as I do? I like the dogs or coyotes or wolves that parade across the shirt. I like how some of them are running away, while others appear to ~~not~~ be howling… At the moon.

I am sorry to say that everything I am wearing is sold out. The shirt is Anthropologie’s Ismay Buttondown (similar here), the skirt was from Anthropologie last year (similar here), the boots are Chie Miharas (similar here and here). I will talk more about agate necklaces tomorrow. Mine is by Leila Jewelry, the link is not (similar here).

*this post was edited using the VSCO Cam App C1 filter at level 3.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

black

Two-lle Sisters

Sunny Skirt

Bus-ting Out The Plea-ts

“…The Little Dog Laughed…”