belt it out

With few exceptions, I really like the classic hourglass shape for most of my wardrobe, so I tend to cinch almost everything I wear with a belt. I love wearing them, but most have this long trail of extra belt fabric with nowhere to put it! So these are just three ways that I deal with that little fashion conundrum. The first (and one I use most often) is looping it around itself so that the excess gets tucked downwards, and doesn't just flail about all over the place. It's perfect for skinny belts!


Wide belts are the hardest to deal with, since you really can't tuck them or knot them without seriously wrinkling the belt. I use decorative bobby pins (they have to be tight or else they'll just pop right off) and they work like a charm! If I'm wearing a cardigan over the top, I'll just use a normal black bobby pin since nobody can see it anyway.


If all else fails, I just make a knot out of the belt, and stick it off to the side. For really long belts (some of mine seem to have like three feet sticking off the end! What the heck!) you can even make a bow!

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Make your ultimate ice cream sundae! Sprinkles? Walnuts? Hot apples? Asparagus?

posh-ish frock friday

dress - le bomb shop

bag - modcloth

tights - we love colors

belt - vintage

shoes - target

I wore this yesterday to New York -- On Wednesday night my brother found out that he won tickets to see his favorite singer, Tim McGraw, on the Jimmy Fallon show. He's 16 so he entered the contest using my name, which means I had to tag along to collect the prize. I had a pretty terrible day all in all. I wore my favorite black flats so I'd be comfortable walking around the city, but it was raining so hard that my shoes turned into portable puddles -- they were literally filled with water, making my shoes and tights so soggy it was nauseating. Then once we got in the NBC building, my soles were so slippery that my feet slid out from under me, and I crashed on my knee. *ouch!* I ended up buying replacement shoes & tights at H&M and tossed mine in the trash. I also bought an umbrella, and, as these things tend to go, it didn't rain after that for the rest of the night.

The show itself wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not kidding when I say that I'm terrible at being an audience member. I'm just a socially awkward mess at things like this.. I don't like clapping in unison, or doing anything else in unison for that matter. But Kyle got to see Tim McGraw up close (he was like "omg we were breathing the same air!!!!" He's a big fan.) so I guess that makes up for everything else. Now I just need to find myself a new pair of red tights!

If you participated in posh frock friday this week, you can leave your link below! Don't forget you can also grab a PFF button for your blog, to link back here :)

tobias would be proud

top - h&m

cut offs - old navy

tights - kmart

flats - target

locket - made by me

I found these jeans in the basement the other day and decided to make cut-off shorts out of them. I haven't really mentioned this here, but I've been on weight watchers since January 1st (obviously a new years resolution) and I was extremely excited to find that these jeans fit me -- they've been in storage for years in my "so tight it cuts of my circulation" box ;-)

On a day-to-day basis, I don't see any change.. I still think I look exactly the same when I look in the mirror now as I did in January. But it's little things like fitting in jeans two sizes too small, or being able to zip up a favorite dress without holding my breath, or even being confident enough to leave the house in shorts, that make me realize I'm making a dent! I still have a little bit to go before I'm at the recommended weight for people my height, but I'm really happy with my progress. Hope you don't mind me sharing! I was just so excited that I fit in these shorts, I couldn't keep it quiet anymore :)

ps! I gave Amber Rose's blog Laughing with Broken Eyes a little facelift yesterday if you want to take a peek! Even if you don't care about my web designing prowess (oh yes, prowess) you should pop over there anyway because she's such a sweetheart!


Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

Would you rather be able to fly, or be invisible?

easter, take two

dress, cardigan & belt - forever 21

shoes - aldo

So this is what I actually wore on Easter! I took the photos for my Easter post last Thursday, and had every intention of wearing that outfit Sunday, but changed my mind at the last minute on Easter morning. I'm really glad I did, since those tights would have been impossible in my grandmother's apartment, on a 90 degree day with the a/c turned off! The cardigan, needless to say, wasn't worn very long either...

I don't know if it's just New Jersey, but we don't seem to get Spring or Fall here anymore. There's maybe a week of transitional weather where it alternates between hot and cold, then bam! It's just totally hot until the end of summer. We're in 80-90 degree weather now, and only about a week ago it was in the 60's. I miss that in-between weather when it's warm but not sweltering, or cool but not freezing!

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

Would you rather live somewhere that's summer all year long, or winter all year long?

Style Idol - Gina Lollobrigida in Come September

Come September is a really fun 60's comedy with a pretty awesome all-star cast -- Gina Lollobrigida, Rock Hudson, Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin and Gina Lollobrigida's wardrobe. It was so fantastic, it really deserved its own credit above the title! I think my favorite outfit is the crisp navy & white dress with the bright red hat that she wears at the beginning, but everything else is so amazing it's really hard to pick!

(winking screencap by Andi, the rest are by me)

softer than down, smoother than air

dress - h&m

shoes - blowfish

headband - f21

locket - handmade by me

This is the dress I was talking about earlier this month, that reminds me of Picnic at Hanging Rock. I don't usually wear things as flowy and loose as this dress because it doesn't really flatter my shape, but when I saw it on the rack at H&M I just had to have it! It's equal parts 1970's and 1900's, so I took inspiration from those decades for my accessories, with seventies style platform heels and an Edwardian style locket. Which, by the way, has photos of Chloe and Hypatia inside. Did someone say crazy cat lady?! ;-)


Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

What would you put inside of a locket?

here comes peter cottontail

dress - h&m

belt - vintage

tights - we love colors

shoes - from my grandmom

Confession: I like to dress like a giant easter egg. It probably stems from my mom dolling me up in light pink tights, white shoes and the most pastel dress in my closet to go over my grandmother's for easter when I was little. I lose any sense of balance with dark and light, on easter there is no such thing as too much light pink, or too much light green. Even my nails are painted all different pastel shades. I'm terribly literal when it comes to dressing for holidays. It's awfully cornball, but I honestly don't care. I love wearing red and green on Christmas, and black and orange on Halloween :)

We're going over my grandmom's today... me and my brother have the hardest time containing our laughter when we're there because my grandmom is really OCD about easter egg hunts. She writes down where she puts each egg, then follows us around with the pad to check off when we find each egg. If we're not finding them fast enough, she starts trying to direct us to the right spots so we can speed things up and eat dinner. It's equally odd and hilarious, but probably one of the best family traditions we have ;-D

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

If you had a pet bunny, what would you name it?

let me start over

Last night I realized I had nothing at all planned to post today, but since I haven't missed one single day all year long I really didn't want to break my record. So I posted this long rambling thing about all of my internet links -- my other blogs, my etsy accounts, tumblrs, etc -- and scheduled it to post around 7am while I was still sleeping. When I woke up I realized how stupid it was and immediately deleted it. I mean seriously, it was like I was advertising myself or something? I don't even know what I was thinking. So I wanted to apologize if you caught it while it was still up.

Last time this happened to me (an "omg what am I going to post?!?!" panic attack) I went a much classier route, and posted pictures of cute cats! Much better. So continuing with that theme of posting pretty things when I'm drawing a blogging blank, here's a gorgeous photo of Monica Vitti. If you're not familiar with her, she's an Italian actress from the 60's, and I highly recommend her films. She's pretty much every ounce of awesome on this planet rolled into one person.

I think I actually need some kind of regular series to do on Saturdays so I don't keep blanking out when it's time to post! Unfortunately I'm drawing a blank there, too! Any ideas are greatly appreciated. :) Maybe a film review? I miss doing them but I don't know if anyone would want to read them.

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

Which is the funnier word - giggle or llama?

slumber party!!!

Sweet & adorable Amber Rose from Laughing with Broken Eyes asked me to do a guest post for her blog, and it's up now! I used my post to host a little virtual sleepover, and you're invited! So please stop over and join in the fun! :)


Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

What is your favorite slumber party memory? (Or if that would require way too much mental excavation - what was your favorite slumber party activity?)

posh frock friday

dress - modcloth

belt - vintage

shoes - from my grandmom

I'm not thrilled with this outfit, but I'm having the hardest time figuring out how to style this dress. It definitely needs a belt, because the waist is really big on me, but I don't know what style or color works. I thought the gold & silver might look nice, but now seeing the pictures it feels kind of meh. I just love the grapefruit color with the gray so much, I wish I could assemble something that really showcased those colors instead of clashing with them.

Also, I finally finished dying my hair yesterday (I had just left it orangey all week.. so lazy!) and I left the dye on too long, so it came out much, much darker than I wanted! :( You can't tell too much in the picture since the light from my window makes everything seem really bright, but it's a lot darker shade of red than I'm used to. I'll probably lighten it in a week or so if shampooing doesn't take care of that for me.

If you participated in posh frock friday this week, you can leave your link below! Don't forget you can also grab a PFF button for your blog, to link back here :)

home sweet home

With my teeny tiny itty bitty almost invisible budget, I'm probably going to end up with an apartment that's smaller than my current bedroom. But, that hasn't stopped me from dreaming anyway, pouring over design blogs and pinning everything I love on pinterest. Honestly, I've managed to do a lot with my little 11' square room, turning it from my childhood bedroom into a bedroom/studio/office/living room, with walking space to boot! I'm used to living in cramped quarters, so I think I'll manage, even if my whole apartment could practically fit in my palm ;)

Here are some of my favorites that have made it onto my "apartment ideas" board. Most of them are from sweet home style on tumblr, but you can get all of the source links here. (ps. how amazing is the giant pink cat poster a couple photos down? ahh!)




Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

Would you rather live in a giant mansion or a cozy cottage?

and the rain rain rain came down down down

coat - le bomb shop

dress - vintage

tights - we love colors

shoes - aldo

brooch - modcloth (actually a hairpin)

fake umbrella - handmade by me :)

April showers indeed! It's been raining like mad here lately, which isn't particularly wonderful when you need to take photos all the time (not just my outfit photos, but product pictures for my shop) ... nevertheless though, I love rainy weather! It makes me so sleepy, and all I want to do is lay in bed watching movies and snuggling with Hypatia. Chloe, on the other hand, isn't fond of stormy weather in the least. She's a tough independent cat, but at the first sign of raindrops she bolts under my bed like a scared kitten, and stays there until the storm has been over for at least an hour. I wish she was a "pick me up and hold me" kind of cat so I could comfort her, but even when she's vulnerable she'd still claw my eyes out if I tried to hold her! lol.


Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

What is your perfect way to spend a rainy day?

Style Idol - Zooey Deschanel

Thank you to Megan for suggesting Zooey yesterday when I made a desperate plea for ideas on my facebook page :) You know how sometimes someone will ask you a question like, "what are some of your favorite movies?" and despite the fact that there are hundreds of films you adore, you can't think of a single one. That happens to me all the time when I'm getting ready to do my style idol posts. I have hundreds of style idols, but when the time comes to write the post... I blank. I'm a huge fan of Zooey Deschanel's style, but I totally forgot about her until Megan suggested her!

Anyway, here are some of my favorite Zooey outfits! I saw the black + yellow + white one a year or so ago and have been pining for yellow shorts (or a mini skirt maybe?!) ever since.

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

What is your favorite treat from the ice cream truck? (popsicle.. ice cream cone.. fudgsicle.. choco taco... chipwich, etc.)