the hypatia dress - take one

This week I have 5 outfit posts planned with my Hypatia Dress, each one styled a completely different way. I know the old adage goes "save the best for last" but I couldn't wait to share this particular ensemble, I just love it so much!! I paired the dress with a plain black skirt, a pink fabric bow belt and pink pumps. I've had some pink-white-and-black vintage dresses hanging out in my etsy favorites forever (see the bottom of this page) and I think this definitely echoes that style, albeit slightly more casual than the dresses I was coveting.

Really though, you could do hundreds of variations on this with any number of skirts and belts. Layering skirts over dresses is a super easy way to change them up (and the dresses, at least for me, seem to stay tucked in much better than shirts do!) And most of the detail on this dress is up at the top anyway, so you don't really lose any of that when you add the skirt! :)

dress - designed by me and available at ever + mi crush | skirt - forever 21

belt - vintage, from another dress | shoes - from my grandmom

mail time

I've received some exciting mail in the last week or so that I wanted to share! First up is Flow magazine, which featured some of my flapper doodle reading-related drawings in an article spread! My copy of the issue was waiting for me when I got back from Disney World and it was so neat to see it in person!







Mental Floss is carrying some of my Puns Intended art prints in their handmade shop at the moment, and I was absolutely tickled pink to see that my artwork is in an ad they're running in the November issue!! It's cropped but there it is in the bottom right corner! My painting! In Mental Floss!! It's my favorite magazine so I'm ridiculous giddy.. it even says my name above the painting. My name is in Mental Floss. *dies*

ps. The prints are available here if you're interested!





My artwork isn't in this one, but it was something I wanted to share just for it's pure awesomeness! Modcloth released their first fall catalog and it brought back so many memories of flipping through delias catalogs when I was younger! As much as I miss inflatable furniture and denim platform clogs (sadly I'm not actually being sarcastic here, I really miss them) it's even BETTER when all the things featured in the catalog are adorable and sweet, like pretty much everything modcloth sells.

The catalog is available to view online here! Oh! And I forgot to mention this earlier so it's really last-minute but if you've been eyeing something from modcloth and are thinking of making your first purchase from them you can get $20 off ($20!!) any order over $50 if you visit using this link! The offer is good until October 2nd (really last minute, oops!)

cats out of the bag

I wore this yesterday to take Miss Chloe to the vet. It turns out the problem was behavioral. I'm so glad there's nothing wrong with her, but that opens up a whole new can of worms! Behavioral issues can be so much harder to treat than physical ones. Our vet was incredibly helpful though so hopefully some of the things we're trying now will work.

On a completely unrelated note, I saw these pink rugs at Ikea this week and snatched one up as a test to see how I'd feel about redoing the carpet in my room with a thick pile hot pink! I really love it! Part of me thinks it's too much, but then part of me thinks "there's no such thing as too much!" I'm leaning towards getting an apartment soon, though, so I don't know if I want to invest in a carpet makeover right now..  I think it's definitely in the cards when I move though! ;) And this small swatch was the perfect backdrop for my pretty new shoes -- the buckles are bunnies!! Isn't that adorable?!



And Arrietty has given the rug her seal of approval. She's actually laying on it upside down right now as I type this! She's such a fun goofy cat :)

dress - h&m | shoes - c/o le bunny bleu | cardigan - f21? | tights - urban outfitters

purple purple purple!

I have purple hair! It came out darker than I wanted, and the bleach didn't lighten all of my hair enough so some areas look kind of murky grey... but I do like it. It's like the first time I did pink, it takes a few times before the hair color really gets the way I want it. I need to fiddle with the dye to conditioner ratio and I think I might need to mix this color (Punky Colors violet) with a redder shade of purple to get the hue I was going for.

I've had a weird week. I ended up catching Chloe going on my bed, so now I know which cat was the culprit. She ended up doing it three times before I caught her.. luckily when I got my new mattress I bought a waterproof liner just in case, but that still doesn't really make it any less gross :( I just hope she's ok.. she did this once before when she had a UTI so we're off to the vet to make sure everything is fine.

I got SUPER excited today because I managed to snatch up tickets to an X-Files event in NYC next month... I called pretty much everyone in my family to gloat and even ordered a smaller version of my I Want to Believe poster so I could get it signed. And then I got an e-mail from the place hosting the event letting me know that they actually sold out on Wednesday (!!) and anyone who purchased tickets after that would be watching the event on a closed-circuit tv in a room on another floor. So I just cancelled :( It really bummed me out because I was just SO excited about seeing Mulder and Scully in person. But you know what, I got to meet Steve Carell (and a bunch of other Office cast members!) earlier this year so I guess I had more than my fair share of awesome tv experiences for 2013. Maybe I'll have better luck when the next X-Files event rolls around :)

sweater - c/o oasap | skirt - h&m | shoes - urban outfitters | glasses - c/o firmoo

stupendously exciting announcement!!

The dress that I designed earlier this year for Dahlia is now available for sale exclusively at Ever + Mi Crush!! It's available in sizes small, medium and large in limited quantities, so if you're interested in snagging one, hurry hurry hurry! ;)

I'm so excited about this!! As I said in my original post about the dress, I had thought the dress was going to be available to purchase and was slightly heartbroken when I found out it wasn't. Then Christen from Ever + Mi Crush swooped in to the rescue and arranged this wonderful exclusive limited run! It's been so much fun working together and I'm so excited about this collaboration!! :D

The dress is a beautiful cream color with a warm grey lining, double layered scalloped collar and sheer bell sleeves. It comes with a matching cream belt with a warm grey buckle and pretty grey buttons on the collar.






As an added bonus, the first 10 orders will all receive a signed print of my original design sketch! The dress was inspired by Hypatia; her warm grey and light cream coloring, her fragile beauty, and her innate sweetness. Ever + Mi Crush named the dress after her, too -- it's called The Hypatia Dress!



This is my inspiration board for the dress. My main concept was creating something that looked like vintage but would actually fit (oh how many times I've shed a tear over a pretty vintage dress on etsy that had a 23" waist) Also since it's a neutral (well, a combination of neutrals - grey and cream) it can be remixed in a bunch of different combinations.

Which leads me to my next fun surprise -- I'm going to have 5 outfit posts next week with 5 different ways to wear the dress. Of course I think it's lovely on its own with a pair of pink flats, but this little number can also be styled in so many different ways! One of my favorite things about it is that it has unique details (like the collar and matching belt) that make it work without any added accessories, but they're subtle enough that you can add on layers and punches of color without it being too much :)





You can check out the dress (and the other pretty goodies Ever + Mi Crush has to offer!) over here! They also have Dear Creatures dresses on sale for only $30. Just saying ;) 

dapper day!

It took me a little longer than I anticipated to finally get this posted! Oops! I came home early Monday morning and found out that one of the cats had used my bed as a litter box while I was away :( I slept on the floor and then went to IKEA when I woke up to get a new mattress and replace some of my pillows. Luckily the majority of my handmade pillows weren't in the path of destruction but it was still quite the mess to come home to! I'm just really glad that we're having nice weather here at the moment so I can keep my windows wide open to air out my room.

Anyway! While one of the cats was making a mess of my bed at home, I was off in Disney World having fun at Dapper Day. I enjoyed this SO much. I think I want to plan my vacations around Dapper Day from now on so I can participate every year!! It was so fun getting dressed up (more than usual) and seeing all of the other people who got dressed up too!



I actually ordered a vintage dress just for the occasion but when it arrived it was a tad bit too big, so I rummaged through my closet and found this hidden in the back. I don't think I've worn it in years but it was so perfect for Dapper Day! It's actually a new dress but I think it definitely looks vintage in person. It has really intricate beautiful embroidery along the hem, an attached crinoline and fantastic construction.



I'm one of those people who has a hard time wearing white because I *always* stain it immediately. Case in point -- before we even left our hotel in the morning, I already had chocolate on my gloves. And lipstick. I folded them down to try to conceal it, but by the end of the day I'd gotten more lipstick on the fingers (I forgot I was wearing the gloves when I popped gum in my mouth) so I just gave up on trying to hide it. I also spilled chocolate mousse on my dress so I guess it's a good thing I *wasn't* wearing the vintage one after all!



I'm so head over heels in love with this hat. I found it on etsy and just knew it would work perfect with my braided hairstyle! I think I might wear hats more often now, they're such a beautiful accessory but it hardly ever occurs to me to wear them!



Kyle only brought one backpack on the train so he couldn't pack his suit (he likes getting dressed up just as much as I do!) but he brought a dress shirt and tie instead. He's actually wearing basketball shorts and sneakers here but he made me take the picture from the waist up.



I also met up with my friend Sally who had the most adorable Disneybound Mary Poppins Dapper Day outfit! I wish I had gotten a close-up photo of her hat, it was adorable! I'm going to write more about this later, but Sally published her first book this month and it is SO SO good!! It's available as a Kindle download on amazon here and I highly recommend it!

dress - dorothy perkins | bag, gloves and hat - vintage | shoes - thrifted

sunglasses - forever 21 | necklace and belt - from my grandmom

flamingo pink

Yesterday we went to Animal Kingdom and I got to see some flamingos! I think they might be my favorite animal (aside from cats, of course!) They're just so pink and pretty, and I love how they stand on one leg to sleep, with their head turned backwards and buried in their feathers.

It's amazing how fast this vacation flew by. Tomorrow night I'll be on my way home already! I am looking forward to seeing my kitties though. It's funny how I get so used to seeing them that when I'm away I constantly mistake little lumps of clothing or objects laying on the floor for cats. My mom's purse looked SO much like Chloe the other day! I didn't have my glasses on, so that probably accounts for the striking similarity, but it was still pretty cool ;)

Today is Dapper Day so I'm about to get all dolled up and head over to Hollywood Studios! Kyle packed a shirt and tie in his suitcase but forgot to bring dress pants so he's wearing basketball shorts and sneakers with this dress clothes lol!

dress - forever 21 | shoes - payless | backpack - kmart | sunglasses - nordstrom

candy dots

This dress has little dots on it that look like those candy drops that come on strips of paper. I love those! I thought it was fitting then to take my picture outside of the Main Street candy shoppe in the Magic Kingdom :) Although I guess you can't really tell based on how I chose the backdrop haha! I think I was more interested in whatever background had less people swarming behind me than whatever looked most like a candy store..

My brother is actually coming down to stay with us for the rest of the trip! He'll be here in about an hour and stay for the next 3 days. I think it'll be fun having him along. Although I might end up with Kyle-fatigue since we're also going on a mini-road trip at the beginning of October lol :)

I got a few comments the last couple days mentioning Dapper Day and I just wanted to say I am going and I already have an outfit prepared! yay! I am SO excited about it!! I found out Dapper Day coincided with my trip a few days after I booked it and I was over the moon happy. The funny thing is that I have a bunch of really pretty vintage dresses that I never get to wear and I ended up going with something new after all. I have some vintage accessories though so I guess it evens out. I'll definitely take outfit photos and post them on Sunday!! :)

dress - modcloth | lace jacket - vintage | saddle shoes - payless | bag - kmart

smells like disney spirit

Yesterday was mostly rainy, but we still had a fantastic time at Epcot. I know I go on about this, but... FOOD. I got a vegan beef dish with jasmine rice at Seasons for lunch and had vegetarian grilled fake chicken at the Liberty Inn, and both were out of this world. I wish more places back home offered vegetarian options, I usually get saddled with an assortment of potato side dishes or a salad at most restaurants.

Can we talk about my backpack for a second? I've wanted a smiley face backpack since I was like 8 years old. I remember seeing them in elementary school and practically begging my mom to let me get one, but somehow I never did. Recently I started seeing those 90's bags pop up on etsy (usually for outrageous prices like $100+!) and all those pangs of smiley face lust came rushing back. So, a few weeks ago I was at k-mart buying Despicable Me toys (as you do) when I saw it. One single smiley face backpack on clearance for $15. IT WAS FATE. I was there with my dad and I'm pretty sure he was sincerely concerned for my mental well-being, I was just SO excited about this bag.

It's one of those things where you kind of wish you could go back in time and tell your 8 year old self that you have it. She'd be so ecstatic!! That happened again on Tuesday when I found a hair brush at a story here in Disney World that was shaped like a giant fork. It says "dinglehopper" on it! (You know, when Scuttle teaches Ariel in The Little Mermaid that forks are used for brushing your hair and that they're called Dinglehoppers) I just had to get it. I almost wish I could air-mail it to the past and make childhood me so happy!

pinafore - c/o dahlia | saddle shoes - payless | backpack - kmart | shirt - f21

disney day one

I know what you're thinking -- "how did she bring her bedroom and her cat to Florida?!" but actually I took this picture on Sunday, before we left. Yesterday we set out for the airport around 4:30am and then went straight to Disney World when we arrived at our hotel. I was going to take a shower but I accidentally packed all my shower accoutrements in my checked baggage which hadn't showed up in my room yet. So I just went to the Magic Kingdom a tired, sloppy, slightly dirty mess. I still had an absolute blast but I'm not sharing any photos just yet ;)

Last night we went to the Disney World halloween party and it was so much fun! I dressed up like a cat (it was actually a horrible last minute costume but of course my default would be cat.) I had wanted to dress as Mary Poppins but I thought guests weren't allowed to have Disney character costumes (so you don't get confused with the paid actors) but it turned out like 50% of the women there were in full princess regalia. Darn it! Well, at least I know for next time.

As usual for me, so far I'm just obsessed with the food. The quinoa salad at Be Our Guest was phenomenal (definitely trying to recreate it at home when I get back) and I was reunited with my beloved Dole Whip in Adventureland. *sigh* Today we're off to Epcot where tons of scrumptious International cuisine awaits me. Hooray!

Oh, and I did upgrade to an annual pass! Thanks for the advice in my last post!! :)

dress & cardigan - forever 21 | shoes - asos | tie - flapper girl | cat - arrietty

paws for thought

You know, I've actually never seen Jaws. I know! This year I'm trying to watch a lot of modern classics that somehow eluded me in the past, and Jaws is definitely on the list. (I'm blogging about this movie project on my classic film blog, Silents and Talkies, by the way.) Anyway, I had to have this shirt nonetheless. It's so perfect! And I'm sure I'll like it even more once I've finally seen the film ;)

This afternoon we're going down the shore and staying overnight so we'll be closer to the airport when we have to catch our flight super early tomorrow morning. Then I'll be in Disney World until Sunday! yay! I'm thinking about getting an annual pass since I seem to go so often.. if you have one I'd love to know what you think about it (pros/cons, etc.) My brother always said he didn't want to go too often or the magic would wear off but I don't even think that's possible. I feel just as excited every time I go, whether it was my 1st trip or my 9th :)

shirt - urban outfitters | skirt - c/o modcloth | shoes - diy project