Instant Film

Today I payed off almost half of my student loan debt. I'm so much closer to being debt free!

Oh hey, art degree. What now? I guess it was Polaroid Week last week? Here will be my celebratory obligatory photo for this post:

(white conte crayon, 4.5x3 ft)
I apologize for the boring financial news... carry on with your decidedly more exciting lives...

Neither snow nor rain...

I can't help but feel like Betty Draper when I wear this dress. And now, with the cardigan, it's even more housewifey. The knee socks and girl shoes make it feel more schoolgirl, though. For my work we're not supposed to have bare legs as it's now fall and we're supposed to be dressing "on trend". So I pretended that knee socks counted at leggings/tights. Plus, going bare-legged in these temperatures is getting a little outrageous. Still no snow though, as you can see. It's not even in the forecast for the next week! It sure is cold enough for it.

dress/cosette :: cardigan/gap :: socks/target :: shoes/thrifted

I think I'm going to continue to shoot outside when the snow hits. I think it will be fun to not only have outfits documented, but also seasons. I think one of the fun things about blogging is seeing the passage of time, through both seasons and the evolution of my own style. So, my pledge to you is the same as the post office: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Maybe not the gloom of night part. I still need lighting.

Well, I'm off to work for the day. Off to see what is in store for me in the wide world of retail and visual merch...

Fur, Fashion and Fun!

So, I'm stuck at work today, and won't get out until well past sundown, so no outfit photos today. But! I figured this would give me the perfect opportunity to share with you guys the wonderful photos from my photo shoot last month! Me and my friend Bailey were the models, and my friends from high school, Josh and Tess, were photographer and make-up artist (respectively). There were so many incredible shots from the session, so I won't flood you with hundreds of images, but perhaps I'll share another batch at a later date.

On Me(first set of photos): fur jacket/vintage :: top/thrifted :: shoes/payless ::

On Me(second set of photos): fur coat/vintage :: leather-look pants/hot topic :: shoes/payless tank top/F21

On Bailey: dress/F21 :: fur hat/vintage :: fur mukluks/vintage

If any of you are in California, you should look Josh up. He's based out of Santa Barbara, but he travels all over the world for various shoots. He does really wonderful wedding/engagement photography, and is just an all around great guy. I was so grateful to him for doing this shoot, as I needed a photo shoot as a stylist for my grad school portfolio.

In other exciting news, the wonderful Rebecca of The Clothes Horse has done a little feature/whimsical interview with me! Head over to her blog to check it out! And for all you new readers and followers who have traipsed over here from Rebecca's blog, WELCOME! I hope you enjoy it here in this little corner of the interweb!

Orchid Grey

Quasi-day-off today. I got to hang out with my dad and plan dinner for my mom. Sushi apps! Yum. Later we're gonna have barbecued steak and shrimp kabobs.

I've been wearing these boots basically non-stop since I got them. They are so comfortable and seem to go with everything. I was inspired by Orchid Grey for my outfit today. I pulled out one of my mom's old big scarves and belted it. My top is actually a maternity top, which is long enough to kind of be a mini dress (only appropriate with leggings, of course).

top/goodwill :: leggings/F21 :: boots/target :: scarf/mom's

Wearing maternity clothes makes me feel like my favorite baby-blog, Dear Baby. That makes it sound like I have some weird obsession with baby blogs, which I do not. I only read Dear Baby because she is so cute and has such wonderful things to say about her love, life, and pregnancy. Check it out. Plus, she wears lovely outfits and doesn't get stuck wearing ugly maternity clothes. It gives me hope that when I'm pregnant (in the oh so distant future...) I won't have to sacrifice looking nice for the giant object emerging from my belly.

Has anyone else been feeling festive lately? Not in the holiday sense of the word, just in a sense of wanting to party and get together with friends and loved ones and drink and eat great food. I've been really wanting to get down to Seattle this month, not only for The Clothes Horse's blogger meet-up, but to visit all my friends down there. I wish I could plan a party in Seattle from afar and have all my friends be there when I arrived. It's this kind of thing that makes me wish I still lived in the contiguous United States. Alaska doesn't feel far away until you want to actually see people in the Lower 48.

Oh, and head over to the ModCloth blog, where I've been featured! Thanks ModCloth! Now if only I can afford all your delightful items!

On Golden Pond

Yay! Today I had my first day off in a couple weeks. It felt good to not have to do anything or be anywhere. Unusually, our lake has frozen before any snow has hit the ground! It actually felt solid enough to walk on, but I wasn't going to risk falling through to check. Little Bit was tromping all over the ice though. I can't wait till it's solid enough to go skating! It hasn't been above freezing in quite a few days, and my computer is telling me that it's going to snow tomorrow. Perhaps I'll finally get to make a new file on my computer: 2009 Winter. I won't make the new file till it snows!

skirt/handmade :: shirt/found in my old closet :: leggings/F21 :: boots/target
I saw this fabric at JoAnne's last week and loved the vintage-y, native american print (my mom said it reminded her of the tacky 70's... perfect! haha). It reminded me of Marty McFly's tacky old west costume, in a way. I decided I must make a skirt out of it. It was pretty quick actually, just the fabric and an elastic band! I have a skirt constructed just like this one so I basically just copied that one. I got this t-shirt way back in high school at an airplane supply store in the kids section and I decided to cut a v-neck into it.
Little Bit was having a blast outside today, she kept running all over the place and wanted me to play with her during my outfit pictures! Consequently, she is my photo-pal today. Cute!

Turnagain

So, today I did a photo shoot for the little boutique I work for! It was fun having clothes that aren't my own to work with in a photo shoot. Plus, we got to have a bunch of bags and accessories too. Unfortunately, my camera's battery is old and didn't last very long. I would've liked to be able to shoot longer to get the perfect shots in each of these outfits, but oh well. I think it turned out wonderfully as it was.

all clothes/cosette :: black booties/payless :: brown boots/target

I got a brand new lens for my camera yesterday, and I am STOKED on it. I wish I'd had more time to work with it and iron out the kinks before having to do a shoot, but I think it did fine. Unfortunately I was not behind the camera for this shoot, so I wasn't able to really see the composition/exposure. My coworker took the photos, and I think she did a pretty good job! It would've been hard to use a self timer/tripod for this shoot.

Also, we were supposed to have one of our coworkers do hair and make-up, but she never showed, so my hair remained wild and unruly and I did a quick make-up job on myself. Ideally, a lot of things would've been different for the shoot, but for such a short notice thing, I think it went pretty great.

Can you tell what temperature it was in these photos? LOW TWENTIES people. I could barely feel my hands near the end.

All in all, it was pretty fun. But more exciting: I got the photos back from the photo shoot I did at the beginning of the month! I will share those later though. They are insane.

For those about to ROCK!

It's Halloween!!! I think Halloween is my favorite holiday besides Christmas. If we got to wear costumes on Christmas=perfect.

I was going to be a boring old cat for halloween, but then I decided to have more fun and be a guitarist from an 80's hair metal band. I wish there were still bands like this and people who were into dressing totally crazily. Like, why not wear spandex and 50 scarves?

leggings/handmade :: leather jacket/thrifted :: police hat/vintage (g-pa's) :: tattoo shirt/gift
The great thing is that I didn't have to buy anything for this costume. I actually went through a David Lee Roth/David Bowie phase in 2008, and I used to dress like this for reals.
Like, seriously? This is hot. Yes please, sign me up. Whatever people are calling Rock 'n' Roll these days is SO not.
What are you guys being/doing for this most fun of holidays?!

Something old, Something new

Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to do an outfit post. I haven't worn this shirtdress in probably a year. I got it online from Ruche, which is an incredible online shop. I love the print and color, but it just sort of has a wonky fit and I suspect it was designed to be worn by someone with less butt. I put it on yesterday, though, and belted it, which seemed to fix the wonkiness for the most part. As you can see, my Target boots are a new favorite in my stable of footwear. If I'm not too exhausted after work today I think I'm going to go out and try to get a new pair of heels for work. Otherwise, I have a feeling I'm going to wear these boots with everything...

shirtdress/ruche :: leggings/F21 :: boots/target :: belt/vintage

I've been really liking wearing my bangs curly lately. That is, when they decide to be agreeable. Well, either way they don't like being agreeable...oh well.

The other night I raided my old high school closet and put on a bunch of my old homecoming/prom dresses. I have this one dress from my freshman year, and I put it on and wow! It's kind of super sexy. Back when I wore it as a 15 year old it seemed so innocent, basic and pretty, but now it's like, POW! Very slinky-understated-Bond-girl. Open back, black, long. I kind of wish I had any sort of fancy occasion to wear it to. Or any sort of suitor to knock out with it. Hahah! Actually I don't really wish for a suitor right now, but when I eventually do want one, I'll keep the dress in mind.

Oh, and I don't know about you guys, but I love free stuff. Head over to Anywhere But Here to enter to win a F21 e-gift certificate! Woo!

Working till the day I die

So I've been going back through my Chictopia archives (oh so nice to have a site dedicated to chronicling my outfits), and I've been picking out some outfits to wear to work. Since I have never worked there before, all of these outfits will be new for them, but old for all of you. I'll try to keep wearing new and different outfits, but I just know there will be those days where all my creativity has been sucked dry and I'll refer to this post to pick out a work outfit. So here are some of my old outfits which I think will be great for my new shiny job!

Even though my insides churn at the thought of spending money, I'm actually pretty excited about the infusion of new items into my wardrobe. I love reworking my old pieces (and I've been meaning to do some wardrobe remix posts but just haven't had the time to get to it yet), but new things are always fun, especially if they are versatile.

I can't believe it's already Wednesday! My life is moving a thousand miles an hour!

Blogger of the Moment! The fifth edition...

Yay! A new Blogger of the moment! I'm thrilled to introduce you to Krystal of This Time Tomorrow. Not only is she incredibly stylish, but she's basically living my dream life. I should move to Reno and steal her identity... or maybe not. Haha! Well, anyway, she just started blogging this spring and has quickly become a style icon in the blogosphere, and for good reason. Head over to This Time Tomorrow, but first, read the interview she did with Delightfully Tacky! Thanks Krystal!

1. What is your favorite part of blogging?

Interesting question, mainly because I'm not particularly crazy about blogging myself. Most days, as I'm sure we've all experienced at some point, I feel rushed or tired or generally not that into it by the time I get my tripod and camera out. I'm much more interested in checking out everyone else's blogs. The idea of a fashion blogging community

is quite inspiring--that a group of style-conscious people can collaborate and share ideas, like an interactive issue of Vogue but much more relatable.

2. What inspired you to start This Time Tomorrow? Any particular bloggers who got you into it?

I originally started This Time Tomorrow earlier this year in April. I was soon to be graduating and with that, I would be leaving my two jobs, one at the school newspaper and the other at a local newspaper in town. Basically, I wanted something to fill my time and keep me accountable, off the couch and out of my style rut of wearing American Apparel v-

necks and jeans.

3. You've said in your blog that you work on a magazine, what do you do exactly?

Ah, the job question. I know I've alluded quite a bit to my job, especially as of late, with our most recent deadline passing just a few days ago. I work at a local style magazine in town called Reno Style, which features stories on local business owners, lifestyle features around the community and yes, fashion editorials. I'm currently the assistant editor, overseeing most of the general production but am also the stylist, which means I style, direct and coordinate our fashion spreads.

4. What is your dream job?

I would love to be Grace Coddington. Creative director here I come.

5. Of all the places in the world, where would you like

to visit or live most?

I would kill to live in Paris. But then again, who wouldn't?

6. What got you interested in style/fashion?

Four words: Clarissa Explains It All. I know. I know. Melissa Joan Hart, whatever happened to her? I remember growing up, coveting everything she wore.

7. You got to go to the Weardrobe Conference in NYC, how was that? What was your favorite part of the trip?

Of course, meeting that many girls that you previously only knew through an online platform, still blows my mind. They were all so sweet, fun, interesting and naturally, stylish. I just loved all the down time we had hanging out in one of the best cities in the world.

8. What inspires you on a daily basis?

Lately I've been good about compiling my inspiration folder, filling it to the brim of torn out photos and editorials from my stack of fashion mags. I'll usually, depending on the mood, flip through it the night before or morning of and find a particular photo that sticks out from the rest.

9. What's your favorite thing about living in Reno?

Reno is one hell of a quirky, weird place. Plus, we're the only state that gets Halloween off because someone back in 1864 decided that it was a good day to create Nevada's statehood.

10. What is your favorite part of the day?

When I watch reruns of Mad Men with my boyfriend.

11. What are some of your daily must-read blogs?

Oh, tough one! I do love daily posts from Jessica of What I Wore, Katy of Kansas Couture and Kelly over at The Glamourai. But of course, sitting in front of a computer for most of the day lends itself well to checking out other blogs. Le Blog de Betty, We Were Damsels, Late Afternoon, Song of Style, Karla's Closet and Delightfully Tacky are among my top picks as well for inspiration.

12. Why do you think people should bother with putting together interesting outfits or caring about what they look like?

I always fall back on this quote from Ms. Coco:

"I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with

destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny."