Out Of Order: July 2010

Fashion Therapy - Tromp L'oeil

The sun has come back out, and to celebrate I wore this outfit two days in a row (with black tights for night & bowling). It was almost too hot for the sweater and blazer the second day.
I saw a guy wearing a tuxedo t-shirt and almost asked for a picture with him, haha.

It must be my lucky outfit, 'cuz I have a date for drinks tonight! I can't wear this again though...

knit blazer - macy's | top - forever 21 | cut-off shorts - old express jeans | shoes - payless

and because I have a love of color names, the nail polishes I used are Lilac Pastelle, Pink of Hearts, Minted & Taxi Yellow.
I chose the easter-eggish colors because I wanted to feel some springtime in the fog, and I guess it helped, because the weather cleared up!

Happy Hump Day!

Recent DIY Necklace

I was really drawn to this when it popped up on psimadethis.com recently.
\
So I got some supplies from Beverly's Fabrics...

...and highly recommend actually using string, instead of the cheap hemp string I tried! It's like flexible candle wicks. I bet my necklace would have turned out better if I'd used soft string!

I'm not too satisfied with it, but learning the process is easy and fun! I have plenty of string & chain left over to try again.
If I actually create something I'll wear, I'll take some better pics!

Fashion Therapy - Under Cover

Brrr. It's been a bit of a cold spell. Next we have "rolling heatwaves" predicted. Yay?

I don't know why I love black w/floral prints so much. I wore this combo last Wednesday and in May.

sweatshirt-knit blazer - macy's sale | top - wet seal | jeans - wet seal | shoes - target

I have less than a month to make a dress for my friend's wedding, eep! I'm thinking pale pink & navy,
to match my date's suit (no it's not a pink suit; but maybe a pink tie?)

Today's Yays: ♥ peach cobbler ♥ wonky scheduling means I have two days off! ♥ I haven't broken
the wardrobe refashion challenge so far! ♥ V.V. Brown's "Shark in the Water"
What made you yay today?

Fashion Therapy - Night Owls

On Friday night (okay okay, the sun is shining, but sun sets at like 8:30, anything past 8:15 feels like night to me) my friend and I went to see our friend's band play at a local bar/restaurant called The Crepe Place.
Dancing ensued. We couldn't resist the kitchen by the end of the night and ordered clam chowder & salad, haha.

dress - crossroads trading co. | cardigan - tresics | tights - ny & co. | boots - s. madden

(Sadly, my tights didn't last the hour; I got a run in them about 15 minutes after we took these pictures. The run then ran all the way down, so I had to take them off. I cut the bottoms off to wear as socks. Good thing I got those things on sale...)

Happy Monday!

"Push yourself beyond when you think you are done with what you have to say. Go a little further. Sometimes when you think you are done, it is just the edge of the beginning. Probably that’s why we decide we’re done. It’s getting too scary. We are touching down onto something real. It is beyond the point when you think you are done that something strong comes out… I give this advice out of pure experience. Go further than you think you can." ~ Natalie Goldberg (via Kleine Diva in Paris)
♥

P.S. I made a simple necklace from a tutorial, wearing it tomorrow I think :]
P.P.S. Sugar-free chocolate pudding tastes even worse than Diet Coke. Why am I still eating it??

Quotation Marks

source

Makeup Madness

Soo... I've tried five drugstore mascaras in the past month, and thought I'd share with you some of my findings.
Especially because it's insane that I bought that many, I need to at least blog about it so it's not a complete waste ;]

(from left to right: Maybelline Lash Stiletto; Rimmel The Max VolumeFlash; Revlon Lash Fantasy;
Maybelline The Falsies Volum'Express; L'Oreal Extra Volume Collage)

Mascara Reviews:

there's more...

Fashion Therapy - Wintry Summer Days

Sorry ya'll, but let's just say I'm a little disgruntled about the camera/lighting/photo sitch lately, so I'm heavily editing them.

Oh no, a dreaded butt wrinkle! Whoops...

Ucky grey cloud cover has descended; Santa Cruz weather returns to "the usual." It rained last night and feels like we're back in January! Brrr. Confused as to how to dress, I kind of ended up in a dark, wintry outfit that I felt was still summer appropriate because of the pink flowers....

blazer - bcbgirls, via ross | scarf - second-hand | skirt - self made | tights - h&m | shoes - payless

Yesterday I was browsing UO and Bunny's Shoes on my lunch break when I realized what I was doing: thinking about cheating during the Wardrobe Refashion challenge! Only seven days in and I am craving something new. I realized I want to shop more when I'm tired or get irritated at work. Good thing the weekend is here, I've got projects lined up: I'm thinking about changing a dress I never wear into a cute top and making a cut-out dress or romper out of some new fabric I found on the sale table.
I also found this awesome necklace idea on p.s. i made this and picked up some supplies to try it.

Fashion Therapy - Happy Happy Houndstoof

I cannot wait for my hair to grow out! (Has anyone ever tried taking Biotin to speed hair growth? Comments?)

necklace - thrifted | dress - self made, outoforder | tights - costume shop | boots - aldos

Flash point-and-shoot photography is ridic. I keep setting my alarm for later and later, thus I don't usually have time to take photos in the morning anymore. I threw on this comfy dress with a jingly, jangly necklace for work, with a sweater on top since the sun never showed it's face in Santa Cruz today. Summer overcast, how I missed you!

♥ I was also part of Be In Style's Best of the Web column last week! Cool!

Fashion Therapy - One Shirt 7 Ways

Happy Fourth of July and hello midsummer night dreams!

I'm starting to think more about different ways to wear every item in my closet.

I'm calling these looks "cruise" and "classic."
This is just for fun and much inspired by Chictopia, Lucky mag, and other bloggers like Le Quaintrelle. Just in time for July 4th, I picked the ubiquitous white button down shirt for my first "style it up" type post.

( outfit one: shorts - f21 via crossroads | belt - thrifted | shoes - ross )

I love the basic white button down shirt: it's crisp, clean (hopefully), and timeless, with endless potential.
Mine is an oversized New York & Co. blouse. I wore it with shorts to run errands yesterday, then pulled on some jeans & Vans for an evening walk at the dog park with Oreo. It's been a beautiful day, and I'm looking forward to getting off work early today!

( outfit two: jeans - element, via crossroads | shoes - van's )

Here are more ways to style a white button-down shirt:

and, all glammed up:

Fashion Therapy - Summer Blacks

I wanted to see if I could make this loose black dress feel summery. I think I did, kinda. I felt pretty good as I twirled around the field this evening (photos taken at 7:30 p.m.) I dragged Oreo along with me, but she didn't have as much fun as I did for some reason...

This dress is so comfy, I actually wore it two days in a row. I know, gross. I've been sewing almost all day, getting ready for tomorrow night. I have a booth/stall at local boutique Idle Hands, to sell my handmade clothing. I am so nervous and excited, and still have so much work to do, I can be a horrible procrastinator!

dress - via Crossroads, no tags | belt - self made | shoes - Journey's

Today's Yays ♥ Costco run: blueberry muffins, spinach dip & garlic bread, bubbly water!

♥ productivity! ♥ sleeping in & still being productive ♥ 30 Rock on netflix instant download

&hearts; late afternoon sunlight on the flowers &hearts; water - I was so thirsty all day!

What made you Yay today?

~~~

Thank you to loogie2 for telling me to mess with longer shutter speeds when the sun is behind you!

Thank you so much to Lynzy for the blogger award! You're a sweet heart!

Megan, you rule for leaving me those amazing Burda shorts pattern links. Thank you!

Wardrobe Re-Fashion Begins

I'm joining Wardrobe Re-Fashion to encourage myself to curb my spending habits & become a better seamstress & thrifter. "Wardrobe Refashion is a community which has had an online presence since early 2006. Based in Melbourne, Australia, owner Nichola Prested started up the site after deciding to quit buying new manufactured clothing in a bid to do her part for the planet, save money and improve her sewing skills. Participants of the blog pledge to abstain from the purchase of new manufactured clothing for the period of 2, 4, 6 months or LIFE. They pledge to refashion, renovate, and recycle pre-loved items with their own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium or make their own from scratch. Those who fall off the wagon must confess on the blog by displaying a ‘Get out of Refashionista Jail FREE’card."

Here's my pledge:

I, Meghan, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings!
Signed, Meghan Smolka.

Have you done this pledge?