is it spring yet?

I don't want to wish away time but my goodness I wish it was spring already. Sometimes I just ignore the snow and ice outside and in my own little apartment, it's spring. Pastels and bare legs are perfectly acceptable in a controlled climate and sipping lemonade with my back to the window brings some welcome relief from the icy wasteland outside. Of course all make-believe has to end sooner or later -- a realization that you're out of cat food or a printer warning that you're low on ink and before you know it you're once again encased in layer after layer, none of which actually provide sufficient protection from the bone-chilling wind outside.

The whole idea of "snow days" as a kid stuck with me and I've always had a soft spot for winter. I still get excited when I hear that school is cancelled, even if I'm no longer a beneficiary of that announcement. I heard we might be getting a snowstorm this weekend to rival the one in 1996 -- known to me and probably most of the local members of my generation as the longest time we ever got off from school for snow (the neighborhood dads actually built us an honest-to-goodness igloo that year!) -- part of me is excited that other kids might have the opportunity to create similar snowy memories but I have to admit, a much bigger part is just wishing that we were getting a heat wave instead... pass me the lemonade?

dress - dorothy perkins | sweater - asos | shoes - c/o bait footwear

long sleeves in the summertime

I've had a few comments lately asking how I could wear long sleeves or tights or sweaters in the middle of summer. Well, the answer is simple -- I spend about 99% of my time in air conditioning. I wake up in a cool house, work in a cool room, shop in freezing cold grocery stores and visit chilly restaurants. Except for the five minute walk to-and-from the car I'm usually in a completely climate controlled universe. I do go outside now and then (I do love the beach!) and in those instances I can assure you, I don't wear heavy sweaters or tons of layers. I'm not desensitized to heat, if anything I'm too sensitive to it and can't stand to be outside! So hopefully that will clear up any mystery as to why I seem to dress for winter in July, haha!

Anyway, how cute is this dress? It's from Heavenly Couture, where everything is (I am not kidding) $16 or under. This perfectly scalloped little number is exactly $16, not bad for one of the sweetest frocks I've ever seen ;) You can tell I must like it because I'm also wearing a really goofy smile.

dress- c/o heavenly couture | shoes and blouse - forever 21 | black tie - asos

purple summer

I am so smitten with this purple dress right now! It just seems like such a perfect frock for summer picnics and day trips to the beach. As much as I love cold weather there is a part of me that's looking forward to the warm relaxing days ahead... emergency ice cream runs, chalking up the driveway and listening to the crickets during midnight strolls. And I'm actually planning a kind of epic road trip for June, so this winter gal is getting really excited about summer for once! :)

dress- modcloth | belt - ruche | bag - asos | shoes - dorothy perkins

like new vintage

How pretty is the print on this dress?! It's the kind of design I would flip out over if I found it on a vintage dress on etsy, but it's actually brand new! I do love shopping for pre-owned frocks but it's so hit or miss with sizing. So often I find a dress I'm absolutely mad about, only to discover it's 2 sizes too small or 2 sizes too large. So it's always nice to find a brand spanking new item that's covered in this kind of retro print!

I love how it looks layered with a shirt underneath, but honestly I'm starting to get a little tired of layering right now. I had to run errands on Saturday and it was freezing cold with forceful, bone chilling winds and it was raining in that way that's kind of misty but also feels really hard and prickly when it hits your face. I don't handle the heat very well in the summer but my gosh what I wouldn't give to be lounging in my backyard with the sun on my face, and this dress being the only layer I need.

dress - c/o le bomb shop | blouse - forever 21 | shoes - modcloth

everybody pants now

Whenever I say the word "pants" I think of Leslie Knope singing "Everybody pants now! Pants, pants, pants, pants, pants" ... I obviously watch too much tv.

But yeah, I am wearing pants! It's a novelty indeed, but I think I might wear them more often... at least this particular pair. They're very comfy (for pants) and I am in love with the color and polka-dottedness. They actually are a much nicer color in person.. a little lighter and more like cornflower blue. I'm getting really tired of the overcast weather we've been having here, not just because it makes taking photos virtually impossible (even photoshop can't work its usual magic on my might-as-well-be-midnight dark photos) but because it's affecting my mood as well. I've just been so darn down in the dumps for the last two weeks. Every waking minute I've wanted to be asleep. But hopefully the clouds will soon say toodle-oo and my room, my life and my mood will all be sunny again :)

sweater and pants - f21 | shoes - c/o bait footwear | dinosaur necklace - sweet and lovely

rain rain go away!

The weather has been rather dreary lately... something that seriously hinders things when you take photos of your outfits every day lol ;p I wore this last Thursday to see Lawrence of Arabia at the movies with my parents. I usually wear dresses every day but for a four hour long movie, I thought something where I didn't have to monitor my sitting position constantly would be more suitable!

I love Lawrence of Arabia, and seeing it on the big screen was absolutely amazing. (Also, can we talk about Peter O'Toole's face? ♥!!) Since they re-released this David Lean epic for its 50th anniversary, I'm hoping and wishing that they'll do the same for Dr. Zhivago in 2015. That's one of my favorite films of all time... I have goosebumps just typing about the IDEA of seeing it at the movies! :)

Anyway, the other bad thing about all this rain is that it's delaying that super huge exciting project I've been talking about. I have pretty much everything ready to go except for photos (so now you know that whatever it is, it involves photos lol) Hopefully the weather will finally cooperate this week and I can spill the beans super soon!!! eep! :D

Sweater- h&m | Shorts - emerging thoughts | Bag - modcloth | Shoes - target

stormy weather

dress - charlotte russe
cardigan - forever 21
shoes & belt - modcloth
necklace - gift from amber

Taking daily outfit photos can be challenging when it's storming so badly that 3pm looks like midnight! You can probably tell from the graininess of the photos that these went through some pretty intense lightening in photoshop... sorry about that!

Despite the fact that it prohibits fantastic photos, I really love stormy weather! It's so cliche, but I absolutely adore getting cozy and watching scary movies whenever it's thundering outside. The one thing that makes storms a little less fantastic in our house, though, is that they scare the living daylights out of Chloe. She's usually a tough broad but the slightest gust of wind or drop of rain sends her darting under my bed, her fat little arms barely 1" off the ground.

dots and dots

dress worn as a top - elizabeth coletta
skirt and belt - h&m
red shoes - asos

Geez louise, did anyone else have a major heatwave yesterday? (Is it technically a heatwave if it lasts one day?) It was over 90 degrees here, which is absurd for April... luckily I didn't have to go out much so I got to stay inside with the a/c cranked up to cardigan levels. I don't think I'd mind hot weather so much if it wasn't so sticky and the air wasn't quite so thick!

By the way, if someone forced me at cheese-point* to pick my favorite outfit so far this year, this would be it. You know, in case you were wondering.

*I really don't like cheese.

pitter patter go the raindrops

If I had known that New Jersey now has its own monsoon season, I would have taken some back-up outfit photos! gee whiz, it has not stopped raining here in days and I sort of forget what the sun looks like. I already feel a bit amateur doing indoor outfit posts to begin with, so I couldn't bring myself to post ones that were taken in pitch darkness with flash :p I also got some fantastic new flapper doodle products in the mail on Friday and haven't had a chance to photograph them for my shop since the weather has been so dreary. Mother nature always seems to plan these massive rainstorms for days when I desperately want to use my camera!

In other news, I went jeans shopping on Friday for the first time in about two years. I don't wear jeans very often, but I really felt like I needed a new pair since my olds ones were a bit loose. Turns out, I'm two sizes smaller now! :D Woo hoo! I haven't been this size since high school, about 8 years ago, so I'm over-the-moon with glee! I'm not on weight watchers anymore, but I think cutting back on grapefruit juice and drinking more water in its place has done me a world of good. I know it's fruit, but grapefruit juice still packs a load of calories when you're consuming about a bottle a day (eek!)

ps. I have a little interview up on The Girl with the Blue Bow today! Check it out here :-)

part of me feels centered

dress - modcloth

skirt - vintage

shoes - blowfish

belt - forever 21

We've been having crazy humidity here lately.. the kind where your clothes feel damp and if you walk barefoot on tile floors your feet feel sticky. BLECH! Another side effect of this weather is that my naturally wavy hair doesn't do anything I ask it to. I blow it straight, walk outside for one second, and boing! the waves are back, and my bangs have gone haywire. eek!

Rather than trying to tame my mane with styling products which never seem to work.. I'm just going with the flow this year. My hair naturally parts in the middle, and then the waves move outward from the center point, so I'm just going with a laid-back 70's style parted, feathered bang until the humidity dies down. I definitely don't love it as much as my full 60's bangs, but it's growing on me! :)

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 a kangaroo or a polar bear?

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?

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?

posh frock friday

dress - modcloth

balloon sleeve bodysuit - boohoo

belt - h&m

tights - h&m

shoes - charlotte russe

sunglasses - fred flare

I love being able to just throw on a dress and sandals in the summer, but I am going to miss wearing tights SO much!! They add so much to an outfit, and often tie the whole thing together. New Jersey summers are just way too hot for me to wear them though. Even if I found extra lightweight ones, I'd be pulling them off by midday. I'd obviously never make it in a place like Arizona... they'd probably think I'm a baby for calling 90 degree weather hot lol ;-)

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 :)

what we see and what we seem are but a dream

top - forever 21

skirt - h&m

shoes - aldo

bag - urban outfitters

After watching Picnic at Hanging Rock recently I've been really drawn to both 70's and early 1900's fashions. I bought a dress in New York last week that looks like it could have been worn in the movie... I can't wait to wear it when it finally gets warmer! It's a twirl-around-in-the-backyard-before-collapsing-in-a-wicker-chair-and-drinking-ice-cold-lemonade kind of dress.

I'm so jealous of bloggers who are posting spring-like photos already, when I'm still wearing my winter coat and a scarf to leave the house here! Last year our air conditioner broke in the beginning of summer and we couldn't afford to fix it, so I kind of loathed the whole season. We're finally getting it fixed next week, so I'm actually looking forward to the warmer weather this time, knowing I'll have a cool retreat if I get too hot outside :)