October 12, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Ollie and Me: On The Prairie

Ollie loves car rides.

No. I mean really, really loves them.

He doesn’t care where you take him. He just likes to get into the car and go.

The sad part is that he is so short he cannot really see out of the window. This does not bother him. Ollie is a glass half full kind of dog.

On this day my husband decided to take him a little bit past the house. I asked my husband if I could join him and perhaps get some pictures of the outfit I wore that day.

He agreed.

Ollie did not.

When we got to the location I decided to see if Ollie wanted to pose with me.

You would think based on the photo above that he was not so happy about this (seriously though, how funny is that face? His is pretty hilarious, too).

I decided to show him how much fun taking pictures can be.

He decided he really, really liked getting his picture taken.

I think it is because he got a lot of love.

Who am I kidding?

He always gets a lot of love.

Dare I say it? It looks as though he enjoyed it more than a car ride.

Blasphemy!

I think he might be happier than I am with this outfit, too. I paired my grey dress from this post (which has become a layering piece ’cause I shrunk it) with a flannel skirt (similar here) and fringe vest (similar super fabulous vest here) that I scooped up for $10 each at a consignment store last winter. The belt was from Anthropologie.

If you have a dog do they like car rides or walks better? What is your best score at a consignment shop?

Ollie did so well taking pictures with me that I might do it again soon. It was much more fun than taking pictures by myself.

And the best part was… He got to get a ride back home.

His modeling fees are odd. But cheap. I pay him in car rides.

No need to tell him we were going back that way anyway.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Because Shanna Said So!

*two more photos that did not make it to the blog post can be seen on my Instagram Account (thegnomelover).

October 3, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Little Short Long Short Black Dress

I had not seen this dress before I noticed it in the sale section while browsing on Free People’s online website. I now know it is because it is listed as a tunic and not a dress. It was called Free People Romantics Same Suit Tunic (now sold out. Slightly similar “tunic” here). I am generally not an impulse buyer, but this was an impulse buy in the summer.

It was odd to me that this was listed as a tunic for a variety of reasons. First, half of Free People’s dresses would really be tops for this thirty seven year old. So, this piece being labeled as a tunic and not a dress made absolutely no sense to me. Second because I really, really liked it and I was shocked to not have seen it before.

But then I looked up the word “tunic,” having previously thought it meant a loose top. But it really is defined as a loose piece of clothing that goes to your knees. So, this fits. And Free People is right once again.

And I was wrong.

Again.

Sigh.

Don’t tell my husband I admitted that.

I paired the dress with some gold jewelry on this day. My cuff from World Market and Honeycomb Earrings from Modcloth.

I know there will be some mixed reviews on the extreme severity of the hem disproportion of this dress. My daughter being a huge not-fan of it.

However, as an extreme champion klutz, having extra coverage in the back for the inevitable picking up of fallen objects is an amazing addition.

Plus, it is as though I have a cape trailing behind me when I walk.

A cape or odd tail feathers. I guess it depends on your point of view.

Maybe I am the superhero of ducks. It would certainly explain many things.

What? You ask.

Hmmmm. I cannot think of any but I certainly have an affinity for quacking.

Hey! I think I see a pond over yonder. Let’s go.

Do you have anything with a hi-low hem line? I will admit that I am getting kind of sick of the trend. But for some reason I still like this piece.

Quack.

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

*This dress can also be seen in my root beer cake post.

*this post was edited using the App VSCO Cam filters: C1 at level 3, temperature at level 1 and contrast at level one.

September 28, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Oiseau Maxi Dress

I fell in love with Anthropologie’s Oiseau Maxi Dress as soon as it came out (this keeps popping back in stock. With the 25% off sale, you might be able to call and find it in a store). The bold graphic bird print reminded me of one of my favorite dresses (ironically never shown on this blog), the Indigo Shoal Dress.

However, as much as I loved the idea of it, I knew I would never wear it without having to have some sort of coverage on my arms. The straps were just too thin for my comfort level.

It finally went on sale and miraculously enough, it also happened to be during Anthropologie’s extra 20% off sale price promotion.

I swooped in and grabbed it.

The dramatic ruffled bottom was such an unexpected, sweet surprise.

Because it was September and the end of summer, I did not want to wear it with a denim jacket as I had planned. Instead I borrowed my daughter’s Forever 21 Cardigan.

One of the great things about having a teenage daughter is borrowing her stuff.

One of the not so great things? The borrowing goes both ways.

I had no idea what Oiseau meant when I purchased the dress.

Do you?

Want to take a guess?

It is French for “bird.”

Doh.

I probably should have made that deduction.

What kind of birds or Oiseaus would you say these are?

I am really unsure about the answer. I just know I like them.

Do you own any animal print dresses?

I believe I own four.

I could be wrong.

Sometimes it feels as though my brain has flown the coop. It needs to come home to roost. That would make me happy as a lark.

Groan. Sorry about the idioms. I really need to quit them cold turkey.

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

*this post was edited using VSCO’s C1 filter at level 3 and contrast at level 1.

September 22, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

did you

I wanted to do a quick outfit photo session before my husband and I went on a lunch date. We were driving to our favorite desert spot for pictures. It is easy. Secluded. Private.

But halfway there, we drove by an orange grove and some interesting graffiti was spotted on a fence surrounding some equipment.

As someone who took two college philosophy courses, I was intrigued with the message.

“did you?” That is all that it said. I admire the choice of lower case letters. It was not aggressive in its innocence. Lower case letters never are. It was simply curious.

As a lover of the obscure, I admired the simple, but deep, question. There are many, many ways you could take the message:

Did you find the pumpkin I buried thirteen paces to the left?

Did you call the police when you saw me graffiti this sign?

Did you regret not getting on that plane to New Orleans?

Ahem.

I went for a more shallow approach, myself. This is a fashion post, after all…

Did you…remember to smile?

Did you…brush your hair? I’m guessing… No.

Did you…drop something?

Did you…get deodorant on your shirt?

Did you…wear too long of a skirt?

Or did you…wear too short of a shoe?

Either way, just tie that baby up.

Did you…wait for a sale price on this skirt for almost two years?

Did you…tuck your pajama shirt into your skirt and hope no one would notice?

Did you…wear it to bed again that night?

Did you…wear this outfit to the chiropractor’s office and then remember too late that you had not shaved your legs in over a week?

Did you…decide to have fun despite all of those things? Well, did you?

In the words of the great philosopher, Aristotle, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.”

Or in the words of Jenni, “Yep.”

*this post was edited using Afterlife’s Crest Filter at 40%.

P.S. Sorry for the unexpected break! I will have new posts up again on a daily basis starting tomorrow! : )

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

hippie

Ollie and Me: On The Prairie

Little Short Long Short Black Dress

Oiseau Maxi Dress

did you