January 30, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Tasseled and Tousled

Sometimes an outfit will come together in my mind and then it is quickly forgotten as something else comes up. But I could not get this one out of my head.

So I put it on. And I was happy.

I received these booties for Christmas (however did he know?). The booties are sold out at Anthropologie, but the brand is Fortress of Inca and they have similar booties available. They are more than what I paid, but I have seen their site do promotions, so I would watch for that if you want the booties. I wore mine for about ten hours on this day. And they were very comfortable.

The dress was an awesome sale popback score. I was really worried that this dress would accentuate my hips in a negative way, but it surprisingly does not. It is a very forgiving dress. The only thing I would change would be the v-shaped pretty plaid pattern in the middle. If you stand a certain way, it looks like odd legs. But I can live with that.

Heather from The Peacock Fairy previously wore her dress here. Can you believe she just had a baby? She looks fantastic! I didn’t get dressed for three months after each baby. She is very inspiring. Bonnie from Small Town Fashionista also rocked the dress early on. In fact, it was after seeing it on her that I added it to my wishlist.

It is a great dress for all body types. You might be able to find The Tasseled Maxi Dress on eBay or as a popback (it is all sold out, but Golden Tote has almost the exact same dress for $35 without the middle panel. I have never shopped there before, so I cannot comment on the site).

Whew! Mundane details out of the way. Oh! I forgot about the necklace! And I forgot its name! It is from 2013. It has a gold stripe on the other side. I always wear it backwards because I like the pure dark fabric by itself better. The ring was the best deal last month. I had wanted it when it first came out, but never got it. My local store had it for $7.50. I wear it all of the time!

Okay. Now the mundane details are hopefully out of the way. Who likes mundane details? Not me. And isn’t January full of them as we try to get our lives organized for the new year?

Such as, I have been purging my closet. I made a pile that I will be donating and the next night at dinner, my daughter came to the table wearing the kimono I had put on top of the donation pile. It is a good thing that I am always slow and behind or she would have missed out!

It was windy when we took these pictures. Somehow I ended up in positions that resembled ballerina poses as I tried to block the sun and keep my hair in place.

I find this hilarious as I am the most klutzy person I know. My mother was a beautiful ballerina. I never had the knack. Or the grace. Or the fortitude. I took it for, gosh, seven years. I kept hearing about the blood involved with pointe shoes and that was it for me. It makes me dizzy just thinking about it. And nobody wants a dizzy ballerina. Besides I believe I would be a ditzy dizzy ballerina and that would be a double blow to the craft.

Did you take a dance class as a child? Do you take it now? Is anyone else still reeling from the talk about the pointe shoes? I can feel the room spinning. I must put my head between my legs.

Don’t worry. If anyone asks I’ll just tell them it is a new dance move.

And they’ll totally ~~not~~ believe me.

P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress and Fashion Should Be Fun.

January 21, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Lady In Red… Embroidery

I have mentioned before that maroon is not my favorite color. Well, I am not a huge fan of red either. I don’t not like it. I just don’t like it very well either. I think it is a very hard color to wear. I have a pair of red boots and it absolutely terrifies me to wear them. Red is very attention grabbing.

I don’t really like attention.

“I know.

The irony.

Or idiocy does not escape me,” says the public blogger.

When someone is paying attention to me, it makes it very difficult to eavesdrop on them.

It also makes it difficult to finish the interesting conversation one was having with oneself. Just when you are about to learn where the bodies are buried, the stranger’s eyes will meet your own and you will have to stop the secret whispering.

Please tell me I’m ~~not~~ alone.

I had forgotten all about this dress until I was lamenting to my husband as I was getting ready for our date, “I have nothing to wear.”

I was only half joking.

Everything I pulled out of the closet just seemed wrong.

I find it harder to dress for a date with my husband than anything else.

He is not fond of my loose-fitting frocks. Or my hippie skirts. I wanted him to think I looked pretty while still staying true to myself.

I found this dress (old and sold out, similar dress here) tucked in the back of the closet wedged somewhere between my Kantha dresses, gnome costumes and my dignity. I had wondered where that went. I hastily threw it on with my fringe booties and big rose earrings.

When I came out of the closet, my husband commented, “I like that dress.” And both me and myself were pleased.

We ended up going to a restaurant that we always do. It was lovely, although not as lovely as usual. The food was not on par with our past experiences. It is an outdoor restaurant.

It was cold. I ended up keeping My Vegan Leather Jacket on all night (previously worn here and here).

I wore the dress to the post office later in the week and I had two people stop me to tell me that they just loved the red embroidery.

Now I will never know where those bodies are buried.

Don’t look too closely at those mounds behind me.

Do you have a fear of wearing red? Do you talk to yourself in public? Do you always go to the same place on a date? If the meal was not up to par would you say something? I will admit that I said nothing. It would have made my face red even thinking of doing so. And one spot of red was enough for one night.

P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

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.

November 15, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Tinamou Stitched Tunic

I had tried The Tinamou Stitched Tunic (now sold out, but the same designers made this gorgeous top more appropriate for winter) on over the summer. I fell in love with it, but because it was sleeveless, I put it in my wishlist and made myself forget about it.

By the way, did you know “Tinamou” is a type of bird? Each time I look up an unknown Anthroplogie word, it usually means “bird.” I think I have cracked ~~my head~~ the code.

Then one day, many months later, it popped back into stock after being sold out. I scored it for $20. The Mothers Jeans were a different popback at $8. Retail price for those was over $200. I knew I wanted to layer the fun tunic for the fall, so I paired it with a simple long sleeve tee from H&M.

The fun details on this top are so intricate and bright. There are black pompoms on the bottom. It is hard to tell because of my black pants.

I also wore my fringed booties. We took these pictures in a nearby park, because my husband had to get to work. But I wanted a picture of this outfit.

Winning.

These over the top neon hoop earrings are recently from Forever 21. They were less than $5 and they stole my heart. The neon bracelets garnered their own post a few months ago.

I wore this outfit to my son’s junior high school, because it was parents eat lunch with their kids day. I thought he would not want me to go.

I was right.

His exact words were, “Mom, I’m not embarrassed by you. Well, only a little embarrassed. But they play music at lunch. I don’t think you can control yourself.”

He knows me too well.

But I promised I would behave. And by behave, I meant not dance on the lunch table. It was a promise I have avoided making for years. Thankfully my husband did not hear me say it and therefore still does not know that I am capable of such actions.

To the vast relief of my son, we could not hear any music from our lunch table.

Phew.

It was a close one.

Have you scored any deals lately? If you have children, do you embarrass your kids? Do you dance to music in public? Do you keep unknowingly buying clothes named after birds?

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

fringe

Tasseled and Tousled

Lady In Red… Embroidery

Sunny Skirt

Tinamou Stitched Tunic