a shoe to stand on

I've been a huge fan of platforms ever since the Spice Girls made them all the rage when I was an impressionable pre-teen. Naturally I'm tickled pink that they're back in style again so I can stock up! I really hate being on trend for some reason (the fact that my dad incessantly nagged me for playing with "trendy barbies" as a child may have contributed to this..) but I love when my favorite styles become popular, since it gives me a chance to hoard them for the future. 70's style platforms are a case in point -- adore them to no end, but they haven't really been readily available since I was about 10. Now that they're everywhere again, I'm going to stock up and save for the lean years when they're are out of vogue ;-) I'm leaning towards buying either 1, 8 or 12, but if only I could find a pair of 6" tall union jack ones... hmm...

links: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

ps. You have to see these AMAZING white platforms my mom wore to her prom & graduation! :-O Aren't they awesome?!

shop my closet

I used to have clothing for sale on my downsizing blog, but that's really more for crafty supplies & Sinatra memorabilia, so I thought I'd move the clothes over here instead. I took new photos of everything, with me wearing the items so it's easier to see what it really looks like on. I only listed about 20 or so things so far, but I have a huge pile of stuff I still need to photograph, so hopefully I'll have more added in the next week or two :) Also, if you see something you want, and would like to trade with something from your own shop-my-closet-page, I'd love that!

Here's the link to my page, and I have a link on my sidebar too if you want to look later :)

Style Idol - Barbara Eden as Jeannie

The other day I was trying to think of a Style Idol for this week, when I stumbled upon a news article that Barbara Eden's memoirs were being released this spring! B-i-n-g-o! Style Idol: found.

I've loved Jeannie's wardrobe since I was a kid, when I Dream of Jeannie used to play during Nick at Night's Block Party Summer marathons. I love her normal pink uniform (I was incredibly disappointed when I was Jeannie for halloween in elementary school & my costume didn't look EXACTLY like hers) but it's the wardrobe she uses for mingling with mere mortals that really makes me swoon. I think that all of her outfits in this post exemplify what I'm hoping I'll find when I search the vintage listings on etsy. I just scan the dresses hoping that one of them will resemble something Jeannie would wear... albeit with a slightly longer hemline since I'm not fortunate enough to have those legs :\

My all time favorite Jeannie outfit is the white sparkly dress she wears when she sings "Power On" in the nightclub episode. I couldn't find a photo of it, but I did find a video on youtube. The song is great, too, so it's definitely worth watching! :)

(screencaps via fanpop & screenmusings)

jean genie

coat - h&m

jeans - old navy

scarf - urban outfitters

bag - urban outfitters

shoes - the back of my closet

I hardly EVER wear pants, but after too many windy days spent in NYC trying to hold down my skirt to keep it from blowing up around my face (and embarrassingly failing at this task numerous times) I decided to go with some trusty jeans this time. Not nearly as pretty, but much better than flashing all of New York City, yes?

Me and my mom spent the day in the city since I had to attend a meeting, and it was so nice! I really love spending time with her and don't get the opportunity very often, since she works full time and is too tuckered to do much besides watch tv when she finally gets home! After the meeting we spent some time (cough.. hours) in H&M then had drinks (lemonade & coke kind of drinks) in the cellar restaurant at Macy's before coming home and meeting my dad and brother for dinner at Olive Garden. We really don't get out much as a family so when we do it's a HUGE treat, and incredibly fun! Somehow I blurted out that I owed my mom a "gret of daditude" (instead of debt of gratitude) and it struck our funny-bones so much that my mom was crying, and I was having trouble breathing I was laughing so hard. All in all -- an absolutely perfect day! :)

modcloth giveaway winner

Thank you SO much to everyone who entered. There were so many incredibly sweet comments that absolutely made my week! I really wish I could afford to give EVERYONE a modcloth gift certificate! As long as I'm wishing, I really wish I could afford to give everyone an unlimited budget shopping spree there.. myself included lol ;-D

Now, to choose a winner, I entered all of the names in numbers (mac version of excel) in the order they were received (including 2 entries I received on facebook) which assigned each entry a number. Then I let random.org do the hard part -- choosing one winner out of 209! So congratulations, Rachael! The Squalling Storm Dress is soon to be yours! :D I'll contact you so I can send you the gift certificate :)

I had so much fun doing this I might make it a regular thing (not $50 regularly, but something almost as equally neat) ... I'll admit, it's partially so I have a reason to keep my giveaway graphic on the sidebar. I've grown so smitten with seeing it there, I don't want to take it down now! lol!

sunday funnies

You can see oodles more hilarious cat comics at the cat vs. human blog.

the great northern

I've recently become overwhelming smitten with Twin Peaks. My parents recommended it to me, and since I think they pretty much have the best taste in the world when it comes to music, movies and tv, I took their advice and set myself up with season 1 a couple weeks ago. As usual when I get hooked on a new-to-me show, I breezed through the whole thing in about a weeks time. And WOW. I can totally understand now why it has such a devoted cult following. It's one of those shows you just can't get off your mind. I've dreamt about it quite a few times now (thank goodness I haven't had any scary Bob dreams yet, but I know they're bound to show up eventually) and even came up with an idea for a new flapper doodle painting with a Twin Peaks theme. I'm totally hooked.

I waited until I had finished the last episode of the last season to do any digging online, to make sure I didn't accidentally glimpse any spoilers. After imdb, wikipedia and some fan sites, I searched on etsy to see if anyone had any cool fan art... and low and behold I found these amazing cross-stitch and embroidery pieces from a Twin Peaks themed etsy shop brilliantly titled The Great Northern! Totally amazing! I'm thinking I might need to snatch one up, and I'm leaning towards the coincidence & fate piece. But how awesome would it be to have a whole series of them displayed together?!

posh frock friday

dress - modcloth

balloon sleeve bodysuit - boohoo

collar -luminia on etsy

tights - we love colors

shoes - charlotte russe

Sorry this is up so late! We had a bit of a family emergency yesterday that resulted in a whole day spent in the Emergency Room (everything is a-ok now though, thankfully!) so I didn't get to take my photos until today. I know it's posh frock FRIDAY but I like to take the photos the day before in order to get the post up early in the AM for anyone who wants to leave their links :) So, long story short, sorry for being late!

In other news, how amazing is this bodysuit?! I bought it in three colors - black, white and rust. I've been obsessed with sheer billowy sleeves for a while, so I when I saw these I had to get them! They're such a great alternative to cardigans for covering up sleeveless dresses!

If you participated in PFF this week you can leave your link below, and don't forget there are only 2 days left to enter my $50 modcloth giveaway!!

vegan mac & cheese

( via bishopart on etsy )

I've been wanting to try this recipe from my cooking bible, Vegan Comfort Food, for ages but only finally got around to making it last weekend. The original recipe called for baking the macaroni and sauce with bread crumbs sprinkled on top, but I had another plan. I used to LOVE Kraft macaroni & cheese when I was a kid, especially the ones that came in characters (they tasted better than the spirals & elbows, I swear!) so I tried to mimic that instead. I bought a box of Kraft, discarded the cheese powder packet, and cooked it according to the directions. While that was on the stove, I made the sauce. This recipe made WAY too much sauce, so I recommend cutting it in 1/2, if not more, unless you're feeding an army..

You'll need:

2 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed

1 medium carrot, peeled & diced

1 medium onion, diced

2/3 c. cashews

2 tsp salt

2.5 c. water

1/4 tsp. ground mustard

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2/3 c. oil (I used olive oil, canola is probably better)

Combine the potatoes, carrot, onion and water in a saucepan and cook on medium heat until the water boils. Then turn the heat down to simmer, cover and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Then mix the veggies, the water they were cooked in, cashews, salt, mustard, garlic and oil in a blender and process until creamy!

For a real Kraft look you could add some food coloring or tumeric to give it more of an intense orangey-yellow color. Mine was more of a light yellow, which come to think of it, is probably better if you're going the classy mac & cheese route, not the 99 cent boxed mac and cheese route.

Now, I haven't tasted real cheese in almost 10 years, but I think it tasted exactly like the real thing! For some reason, even when I used to eat dairy cheese (albeit only on pizza & in the Kraft mac & cheese) it always kind of grossed me out. So this was really nice to have the same flavor and consistency, but know that it was only veggies & nuts! That's one of the things that I love about cooking from scratch. When you see all of the ingredients that go into a meal, you're more at ease eating the food. If I know exactly what's in the food I'm eating, I'm less hesitant to take the first bite of something new! :)

ps. don't forget to enter my $50 modcloth giveaway! :)

pink champagne

dress - boohoo

tights - urban outfitters

shoes - charlotte russe

bow - michaels

wig - wighall

I love happy accidents. While I was picking out my outfit, I looked in the mirror and realized that -- in a spell of laziness -- I hadn't blown my bangs dry after I showered. They were sloppily pulled to the side with a bobby pin, calling way too much attention to my dark roots and shamefully reminiscent of my adolescent years, in which I had no idea what to do with my hair. Then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my wig! I haven't worn it since last year, actually, and I forgot how much I love it! It ended up being the perfect accessory, adding a nice pop of color to my black & white outfit!

Oh, and I finally figured out how to take bigger pictures! yay! Although, now that I'm able to do it, I realize how much I've gotten attached to the little collages I make for my outfit posts (like the one at the top here) So I think I'll format them the way I did in this post -- my ramblings sandwiched between a collage at the top and large photos at the bottom :)

Style Idol - Hayley Mills in The Moon-Spinners

The Moon-Spinners includes one of my all time favorite movie outfits ever! It's the pink ensemble below, which inspired my love of shirts and dresses with belted waists that only cinch the front. I love how it looks all matchy-matchy, until you spot the adorable bright red sandals. And oh my gosh, the super cute kerchief! This outfit alone would put The Moon-Spinners in my Style Idol territory, but the other three in the movie are just as cute! Maybe if we all petition Disney, they might release a Moon-Spinners inspired fashion line? A girl can dream..

ps. don't forget to enter my modcloth giveaway! :)

(screencaps by me)