January 13, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

The Perfect Dress

You know I do not say that lightly. But this is it. The perfect dress. For me, anyway. It was another item I waited for a fantastic sale price on. I bought it in the spring. It nips in at the waist and then flows out into an old-fashioned dream. It is the palest of pinks which makes it more interesting than another white dress. I even purchased one for my daughter, because she loved it so much.

I knew I wanted to take pictures of this Free People Heart Dress (sold out, but similar dress in pink here) in front of an old building. I had the perfect spot in our town. It was an old building with a giant head of an 1800s woman in a flowered hat. Well, we went there the other day and guess what? The new owners painted over it! What a travesty!

When I was at my dad’s house, I knew I wanted to take the opportunity to style this dress in front of Rusty’s house.

Who is Rusty? You ask.

That is a long and short story.

Let’s go with the short version.

When my mom and dad moved into our home, they rented the property from her family. They later purchased it. Rusty kind of came with the deal.

Rusty was not related to the family. He squatted in a ramshackle old house next door to our own that was also on the property. In fact, this house is pictured in the B-movie, “Skeeters.” But that is a story for another day.

Rusty was a hobo.

For real. Although, I realize that is not a politically correct term. It is what I knew him as and I will not change it. It is meant with no offense, because Rusty rode on railroad cars and was a transient, which is how that term came about. He was the real deal and I loved him. He came and went as he pleased. The house is still full of the remains of his travels.

One day I will share with you my memories of Rusty. He died when I was almost four. But I still have fond flashes of moments with him in my mind. I called him, “Uncle Rusty.” And he was a harmless sweet man who happened to bunk on our property. I had an interesting but wonderful childhood.

I think Uncle Rusty would have liked this dress. Although, it wouldn’t have been practical.

I could never catch a train in this.

Maybe it isn’t so perfect after all.

Nah. That’s silly. I’ll just take a bus.

Did you have any interesting characters in your childhood? What is your perfect dress?

November 5, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

The First Kiss Of Autumn

One’s first kiss is usually not special. At least mine wasn’t. I was seventeen.

First kisses can go either way.

I was not going to go on another date with my husband after our first date (I was twenty one and it is a long story for another day), but he asked if he could kiss me when he dropped me off back home. I did not have the heart to say no. He kissed me. And I happily never went on another date with another person.

He knew how to seal the deal.

As he tells it, he knew that if he kissed me I would go on another date with him. And he was right.

We were married four months later.

Free People’s First Kiss Dress is definitely on the positive end of the first kiss spectrum. It is one of my favorite dresses. I purchased it last year (previous post here).

It now comes in more colors but I continue to love the black and white.

I paired the dress with Anthropologie’s Vegan Leather Bomber Jacket (previously styled here).

If I were ever to make out with an inanimate object, this jacket would be it. Wait. That might be too much information. Can we forget I said that? Kiss that thought good bye.

It is absolutely perfection. Lightweight. Slimming. It looks great more fitted like I purchased it (size medium) and looser the way my daughter wears mine.

Are any of your fall items kissable? I love so many of my cozy items.

Which other items do I love? I will have to leave that a mystery for now.

I don’t always kiss and tell.

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! : )

August 27, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

With A Lighter Heart

Sorry for another outfit post. I am trying to get through my summer pictures. My mom will be happy. She loves the outfit posts the most.

I could not recall the name of this dress that I purchased last year. I had originally styled it like Mary on Happily Grey, on my older blog post here, but I had wanted to try it exclusively with gold and pink this time. Make it my own.

I found the name of the dress. And it made me smile, because I had picked this dress out of my closet that day simply to ease a heavy heart.

The dress is called, “With A Light Heart Dress.” I am sure it is sold out by now because when I purchased it in 2013, it was all ready 66% off. I bet it can be found on eBay. I cannot guarantee the light heart, though (I am not linking to a similar dress because I honestly could not find one similar enough to warrant a link and I do not like to add links simply for the sake of clicks).

The necklace is Anthropologie’s Lace Flag Necklace from last year. It is surprisingly hard to find pink jewelry. I am happy I picked this up. The shoes can be found here.

It seems silly, but I was thrilled to get a compliment on this outfit earlier in the day.

A woman stopped me when I was with my son and said, “I like your son-”

And I thought to myself, She likes my son? That is odd.

But then she finished. “I like your son-dals. And your whole outfit is just so cute.”

I thanked her and soared inside, both from the compliment and the fact that my son was not being strangely commented upon.

Another silly thing is this bracelet. I love it. I purchased it from Anthropologie when it hit sale with my husband’s initial. However, it is the only piece of jewelry that has ever turned my skin green.

But I still wear it.

‘Cause green skin is kinda cool. I do like to channel my inner Hulk, after all.

Not really, but I do wear it for short periods of time because I really like the bracelet.

Have you ever had jewelry that turned your skin green? Did you still wear it? Do you compliment strangers? I try to always compliment one elderly woman every time I leave the house. One time I was in an airport and I accidentally kicked the poor lady with my shoe when I tried to tell her I loved her dress. She probably did not appreciate that compliment so much.

I hope I did not give her a green bruise.

Maybe this bracelet is compliment karma.

Or some such light hearted nonsense.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

long

The Perfect Dress

The First Kiss Of Autumn

did you

With A Lighter Heart