The Witching Hour

Tee: Nasty Gal // jeans: J Brand x Henry Duarte // shoes: Jefrey Campbell // sweater: H&M // necklace: Urban Outfitters // ring: Nasty Gal // bracelet: Nasty Gal // skull chain earring: Something Borrowed // cross earrings: Heart Boutique // clutch: Scout Living // nail polish: Revlon "Chic" // lipstick: Mac "Rebel"

Happy Halloween, everybody! To celebrate, I'm wearing my witchiest shoes, my dancing skeletons tee, a skull ear chain, and some vampy lipstick, whose dark hue I achieved by mixing Mac's Rebel with black eye shadow! I had to get crafty.

Guess what - remember when I told you about the "what the f*** are you wearing" drive-by fashion bullying incident a few years ago? Well the reverse happened! I was pumping gas in this outfit, and a girl driving by shouted, "I love your shoes!". So sweet. :)

Black jeans are a wardrobe staple when it comes to a fall wardrobe and these J Brand jeans are perfect! They're actually made to be a cropped jean, which fits my short frame like regular pants! Yay, no hemming necessary. Remember when Express was all the rage in high school? I used to love how they made "short" cuts of their jeans. Diary of a petite lady, I tell ya!

I took this picture of myself by accident but I thought it was a good close-up of the lipstick!

Plum Crush

Crop top: H&M // bralette underneath: Free People // skirt: vintage Betsy Johnson //socks and headband: Urban Outfitters // boots: Urban Outfitters

Yesterday the occasion of a special visit from my out-of-town friend coupled with good weather called for a scramble for a nice outdoor patio. We ended up at Hook & Ladder which turned out to have a fabulous patio! I love that kind of landscape design with a hodgepodge of succulents and herbs all over a wall.

I wore one of my favorite skirts that I feel never goes out of style because velvet is one of those fabrics that seems to make a comeback almost every fall. There's something about a prim skirt paired with a textured top that fits the bill for cocktail hour. I must say though, I was feeling very Carrie Bradshaw wearing this revealing of a bra top. Maybe if I was in New York City, I'd feel like hey, no big deal, yes, that is my bra, and yes it's supposed to be busting out. But here in little old Sacramento, I felt a little exposed. I guess I'll have to work on "owning it."

Speaking of New York, I can't wait till my birthday trip next week! I hope travel goes smoothly by then given the wrath of Hurricane Sandy!

  

All That Glitters is Gold

Shirt: Forever 21 // leggings: LF // heels: Sam Edelman // purse: Scout Living // earrings: Urban Outfitters // ring: Nasty Gal // Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in "Electric" // Valerie Beverly Hills "Vixen Lipstix"

Last night I tried my hand at soft, old Hollywood waves in the style of Veronica Lake, and used this tutorial to walk me through it. I loved the feminine, bouncy feel of the 'do and if I could master the process in a shorter amount of time, I'd rock it all the time!

This gold-dotted button-up is perfect for the holidays, since metallics are always festive, but I'm also looking forward to wearing it more casually by pairing it with sweaters with the collar peeking out or tucking it into high waisted shorts.

I wore this outfit to the new midtown restaurant, Hook & Ladder, which finally allows me to answer in the affirmative when asked for the 10th time, "Have you been to Hook and Ladder yet?!" I overstuffed myself with shrimp pizza and eggplant babaganoush and struggled to hold a conversation over the hoots and hollers from Giants fans (I wish I cared! I always feel like I'm missing out during the World Series. That's what's going on....right?). Ah well, glancing at the TV every once and a while and feigning shock and awe with the others suits me just fine. :)

SLO to Warm Up

Cardigan: Emma and Sam, Velvet pants: Forever 21, Boots: Forever21, Scarf: Urban Outfitters.

This weekend I went to San Luis Obispo to be a bridesmaid in my best (guy) friend's wedding. These pictures were taken on the adorable streets of downtown SLO, the day after I'd washed all the hairspray out of my hair, nursed my dancing feet back to life, and recovered from a sugar hangover of the wedding cake variety.
The crisp ocean weather provided the perfect opportunity to sport my new ombre scarf and get down to business with fall colors. I've been in love with hunter green since last fall and now I've finally integrated it into my wardrobe with these new velvet skinnies from Forever21. Say what you will about Forever's quality, but their pants fit my shortie self like a glove! And they're so comfy in the slightly loose kind of way; I'd even go so far as to say they're a candidate for Thanksgiving!

I picked up the weekly paper while I was there and read a really clever opinion piece on why hipsters may not be so bad after all. Check it out if you need to explain to your parents for the fifth time what a hipster is (No Mom, it's not a 'hip-hop person'), or if you, a hipster yourself, need some validation after being constantly douche-ified.

Mocha and Pumpkin and Sage Oh My!

Sweater: H&M // pants: Madewell // shoes: All Black // necklace: Nasty Gal // ring: Nasty Gal // earrings: Urban Outfitters // purse: Scout Living.

Can you imagine actually tasting mocha and pumpkin and sage all mixed together? Yuck, but I do like how they work together as colors! 

We had chilly fall weather today, which prompted me to unzip the storage bag of winter clothes underneath my bed. In it was this pumpkin v-neck which I paired with these skinny pleated pants that I usually reserve for interviews. I mean come on, they have pleats. But I figured they deserved a chance to prove themselves everyday-worthy and, worn with laid-back crimpy hair and shimmery amber eye makeup, I think they made the cut.

I wore it to a dinner party at a house in Old Fair Oaks the hosts had renovated with whimsical touches, transforming it into a playhouse for adults. There was a canvas tent and hammock set-up fit for the set of Moonrise Kingdom (they're planning on adding a treehouse in the mix), a guest house with a movie projector, a bocce ball court (I swear I've played more bocce ball in the last 4 months than I have in my whole life), all topped off with classy Halloween decorations, which is a particularly challenging type of classiness to achieve!

For lunch we stopped into The Sunflower, a quaint vegetarian haven in Sacramento, where I chowed down on their super nutburger. Yep, nutburger. I hear it, and I don't care. :) I think it's one of the best vegetarian meals in this city!

Chocolate and Bronze Bonanza -- Clinique Rum Spice, Mac Amber Lights, Deborah Lippman No More Drama, Loreal Nature's Blush lipstick, Lucky 24/7 Urban Decay eyeliner, Bourbon 24/7 Urban Decay eyeliner.

Tuesday Shoesday

One Shoe - Two Ways!

Sistah sistah!

Seeing Michelle and I wearing these identical Dolce Vita oxfords, you may think, they must have picked them up on the same shopping trip together. Uh-hohhh if only it were that easy. The journey began when we spotted these pebble-printed brogues at a  Santa Monica TJ Maxx back in August. We had split up only to reunite in the shoe aisle in love with the same shoe! As a teacher, Michelle thought they would be perfect to liven up her work outfits, and I just plain thought they were cute. Plus, they're this-season and TJ Maxx was selling them for half price for some reason! 

Bummer of all bummers, though, they didn't have Michelle's size. Feeling so guilty that they did have my size, I spent 20 minutes with the customer service guy, making him call every Los Angeles and Sacramento location to track down these pink-soled babies for my sister. No luck anywhere, so we both left empty-handed. Cut to one month ago when I was having a tough week, Michelle surprised me with these shoes! She'd been able to track them down at a TJ Maxx in a far-reaching suburb of Sacramento in both of our sizes. Shoe miracles do happen!

This is a weird vogueing-for-each-other thing we do. It doesn't always work.

On Michelle: denim shirt and jeans: thrifted // purse: UO // bracelets: J. Crew // shoes: "Mini" DV by Dolce Vita.

On me: tank: Funktional // shorts: Anthropologie // belt: Nasty Gal //shoes: "Mini Oxford" DV by Dolce Vita // sunglasses: UO // bracelet: Low Luv x Erin Wasson.

October Blooming

Dress: Motel, denim vest: LF, boots: Forever 21, purse: Scout Living, earrings: Heart Boutique, ring: Forever 21, Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in "Covet."

This morning I played a game of bedhead roulette, meaning when I unraveled my bun, I didn't know if I would be faced with a crimpy jumble of tangles (which is most often the case) or pleasantly messy waves. For once, it was the latter! Yesss.

The mugginess allowed me to throw on a mini dress, a spring-worthy mini dress at that! Well seasons, if you're going to mess with me, then I refuse to wear season-appropriate attire. Ha.

And now a sock story... What's that? You've never heard of a sock story? They're only the best kind of anecdotes! Gather round and listen closely... The last time I wore these socks was, full disclosure, six years ago. I know, it's gross that I've kept them this long. But I only wore them once, and I thought they were quirky and cute enough to hang onto. The reason I never wear them might have something to do with the fact that when I was wearing them six years ago, I got fashion bullied! A drive-by fashion bullying at that. The emotional scar has branded the outfit onto my brain so I can recount the exact ensemble: a fuzzy pink 90's style sweater, a black and white houndstooth mini skirt, some funky white earrings, black pointy flats, and these precious pink bow socks. Suffice it to say, I was in a Gwen Stefani/Harajuku Lovers phase. Anyway, I was walking through my community college parking lot when an SUV screeched by and the driver yelled, "What the f*** are you wearing?!" Then she threw a slushie on me. Okay, that last part is obviously from Glee and didn't actually happen to me, but you get the level of humiliation. Fashion bullying aside, I'm going to stand by that outfit. It may have been a little wacky for school, but it was cute, damnit. Taking chances with clothes doesn't always pan out, but it feels great when it does! Wow, that sock story had a moral and everything!

To complement said legendary bow socks, I wore this awesomely tacky, blinged-out bow ring from Forever 21. Gaudy accessories can (and should) be fun. 

So there you have it, y'all. I didn't wash my hair today and I'm wearing six-year-old socks. I'm gross. :)

 How about you guys? Any embarrassing fashion moments to share?

I put stripes of sparkly nail polish over my nude polish! Learn how here.