Christmas Kittens

Christmas Eve...

Christmas Morning...

I got this sweatshirt at Goodwill last Halloween. You can't tell in the pictures, but it's edged in glittery puff paint...

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Sweatshirt: Goodwill

Red Dress: H&M

Hat: American Eagle

Boys Shirts: Target

Christmas Out Takes

Here are some outtakes from my Mom's Christmas family photo shoot...

I'm happy to say that I styled my little brothers' outfits (although Brian, on the left, is very stylish on his own...)

Brian, Me, and Andrew - they're lifting me up off the ground...

I love the dress I'm wearing. It's hard to see in these pictures, but it's a 60's-style A-Line mini in a great thick wool. I got it a few years ago, but it never fit quite right until recently. The red tights with the black dress made me feel a little bit like a Christmas ad...

Andrew likes to goof around (we were making fun of him for not standing close enough...)

I love the pearl detail at the sleeves and neck of the dress. It adds a little bit of chic interest to an otherwise boring black dress...

On Me:

Dress: H&M

Tights: H&M

Pearl Earrings: Ten Thousand Villages (borrowed from Mom)

On Boys:

Pants, Sweater, and Shirts all from Express (they were having a great men's sale!)

Christmas Covet List pt. 5

I am so loving animal inspired jewelry right now, and for Christmas I would love nothing more than a fantastic cocktail ring adorned with some sort of bejeweled exotic cat. The three photos below are all awesome examples I've found through Etsy (though I wish the second one was a little more clear - it looks gorgeous!)

I found this one a few weeks ago and, regrettably, forgot to copy down the seller's name... When I went back and did another search tonight, it was nowhere to be found. I'm assuming such an awesome piece was sold pretty quickly... I love the "diamond" accents on the fur and the "emerald" eyes. Sweeeeet...

However, my less-than-successful attempt to give credit to the seller of this ring did lead me to a couple more beautiful rings:

This piece is sold by ChezVous and is a vintage piece from the 80's - loving the 80's right now (who would have ever thought that I'd be craving a blazer with shoulderpads??? that's for another day...) It reminds me of the jewelry they would display at dig museums when I visited a few archaeological sites during my summer in Tuscany - Roman-era rings were very similar!

Finally, my absolute FAVORITE piece - a handmade knuckle duster by Fleathers... agh I even have the perfect outfit to wear this with. It would also be a perfect addition to a "Modern Dorothy" look - Lions, Tigers, and Bears indeed!

Grandma's Goodies (pt 2)

So a little later than promised, here are the pictures of the BEAUTIFUL dress my Grandma sent me back in May. It's completely handmade by my Great-Grandmother, including the embroidery. The belt is alligator skin (alligator - not crocodile... is that even legal anymore?) and was included in the package. I don't know if Grandma wore the belt with the dress, but I thought it was a perfect combination!

These photos were taken pretty soon post-surgery (you can see my glued-together incision pretty clearly) and obviously pre-hair loss. Looking at these makes me want my hair back even more! I hope it comes back in red, but if not I guess there's always the bottle...

embroidery details - all hand done by Great-Grandma! I wish I had that skill...

Christmas Covet List pt. 4

Now that I'm starting to get a (very) little bit of hair back, I've started scouring places like Target, Forever 21, and Urban Outfitters for inexpensive, jeweled, elastic headbands (regular headbands give me terrible headaches!) A few days ago, I bought a bunch of hair accessories (to be posted ASAP!), and when I was perusing the Anthropologie website, I came across this lovely example. I can't wait to have enough hair to be able to start wearing accessories (I'm hoping by New Year's!) I keep thinking about Natalie Portman growing her hair back from V for Vendetta - her bejeweled Oscar has been serving as my short hair accessory inspiration... I've got a copy of it printed out and taped up in my bathroom!

and... my future hairstyle - as soon as it's long enough, I'm planning on getting it cut like Audrey Tautou's in this photo...

Accessories for the Fun of it

This watercolor is hanging in my bathroom. I THINK it's a purchase my mom made at Summerfair (a huge art show in Cincinnati) a long time ago, but I may be wrong... Anyway, it sums up how I've been feeling lately. I'm trying not to buy any new clothes, only the occasional accessory to spice up what I already have. These are a few of my more recent purchases:

(clockwise from top left) Black Fur Hat: Target, Pink Knit Hat: Urban Outfitters, Nail Polish: Sephora (Blue Jean), Plaid Tights: Betsey Johnson, Tie-Dye Leopard Tights: Forever 21

I almost died when I saw these tights at Forever 21 - I actually had to dig around a LOT to find my size - I'm pretty sure someone was hiding them, because when I finally found some that would fit, they were buried in the wrong tub with a bunch of different headbands. What do you think - too much?

I love Betsey Johnson - everything she does is so fun! These tights are one of my favorite recent purchases. They're kind of a weird material (not very stretchy), but they look fantastic with my favorite long black t-shirt.

I've also been buying a lot of hats lately (obviously) - this pink one is super comfy!

Christmas Covet List pt. 3

Barbie Fashion Print by Robert Best

I have two of these prints hanging in my apartment - I found them at a luxury baby store in Cincinnati when I was shopping for a shower gift for the older sister of a good friend. I LOVE Barbie, and obviously I love fashion, so I couldn't pass them up. I was disappointed that they only had two left, and since then I've been on a search to find a third. This one would go perfectly with the two I already have (Barbie in a black evening gown and Barbie in a pink sun dress with a parasol - this is a combo of the two and would be the perfect compliment!) Plus, not only are the prints fantastic, the gold frames are BEAUTIFUL!

This is how much I love Barbie - my grandma gave me this watch when I was really little (wayyyy to little to appreciate a Fossil watch with the original faceted face). My mom kept it for me until I was old enough to appreciate it, and now it's one of my favorite accessories. It also came with a scarf (which I featured with Winnie in my early scarf posting). I can't get enough of her!

Grandma's Goodies

My mom's mom has always been super-stylish (she was voted Best-Dressed when she graduated from high school in 1950), and I'm always wishing she'd pass on some of her old costume jewelry or accessories. When I was in high school, she brought over her prom dress, and I was devastated when it was clear that I'd NEVER fit into it. I'm 5'8", and my grandma is 5'2" at the most. That's never going to work.

However, my dad's mom grew up in a tiny, tiny town in northern Ohio - on a farm no less! So, imagine my excitement a few months ago when she sends me an AMAZING handmade, hand-embroidered dress that my great-grandmother made for her in high school -- AND that it fits me perfectly! Pictures from my photo shoot back in May will be up soon (I recently stumbled upon them on my mom's camera) -- you'll get to see what my hair looked like pre-chemo, as well!

Anyway, these things accompanied the dress - I recently took them out of the freezer (placed there to ensure that any mothballs or other wool-loving critters disappeared) and was thrilled to find that the gloves fit me like, well, a glove! They'll be the perfect compliment to my favorite green scarf this winter! My grandma also told me that she has pins for the hat somewhere, and as soon as she finds them, she'll send them to me. I hope she can find them, because I'm thinking the little black hat will look lovely with a piece of lace when my hair grows out to a pixie length!

The jewelry comes from a jewelry box she sent me YEARS ago, when I was little. It was full of vintage costume jewelry, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't appreciate it for what it was worth at the time. These are the only pieces I can currently find, and I wear them all the time (well, with the exception of the barrette!) I'm hoping that I packed the jewelry box in with my old dress-ups when we moved a few years ago, because there are a few specific pieces I can't get out of my head that I'd love to wear!

Christmas Covet List pt. 2

Koi Tassel Bracelet, by The Glamourai

I'm really into animal jewelry (this isn't the only creature piece on my list this year!) especially these Koi. The colors go with my favorite pair of earrings, and I've been in the market for a multi-tiered gold chain bracelet. Plus, I've been coveting almost everything Kelly makes since I discovered her blog earlier this year, and this piece is right within this year's Christmas budget...

Christmas Covet List pt. 1

So, every day until Christmas, I've decided to post a different item that I'm coveting for Christmas. Most of them will be actual items I'd like to get as a gift, but occasionally I'll throw in something that's totally outrageous...

J. Crew Sequin Scarf Cardigan - on sale! (I wouldn't mind the blue denim shirt underneath, either!)

I really like the look of the sequined jackets I've been seeing around, but I really love that only the front/collar part of this cardigan is sequined. It makes it a little more practical for every day wear, plus this champagne color is really beautiful!

Stop & Smell the Flowers

Today I had a meeting with my French professor, since I missed a big exam - She's EXTREMELY stylish (about 60, and a former designer for Victoria's Secret - I hope I'm that stylish when I'm her age) so I always try to look extra polished on days when I have her class. I found this skirt in the back of my closet the last time I visited my apartment, and I can't believe I forgot about it! I'd bought it about 3 years ago for a New Year's Eve party (after a VERY long search for a pencil skirt that was fitted enough for my skinny legs) and even though I'm still really skinny, I've gained a lot of weight in strange places because of the steroids I was on, so it barely fits... I can't wait to get back to Pilates to get toned up again!

The sweater is a great find from Urban Outfitters - I've been looking for a big grey sweater to replace my favorite one (it died a very noble death by overuse after many, many winters). Now I'm on a search to replace a couple of my solid colored turtlenecks (my winter go-to staple for under all kinds of dresses) - mainly a couple of black ones...

I love the buttons up the back of the skirt - sometimes I would unbutton the bottom one if it got too hard to walk around, especially in heels. This skirt is so hard to keep smooth - the material is very difficult to iron, and it picks up wrinkles at the drop of a hat...

Details from the purse - I bought this in Paris, from a tiny shop full of these hand-beaded purses made by a tiny old Frenchwoman. I wish I'd bought more than one! It's extremely roomy, and has a HUGE bone button to keep it closed. The handle is bamboo, and I couldn't get a picture of it because my camera died. The only thing I wish this purse had was an interesting shoulder strap - it's so big that it's a little hard to carry in my hand or on my elbow if it's got a lot of stuff in it! I've thought about adding one, but I don't want to ruin it!

Skirt: Bebe

Turtleneck: INC, Macy's

Sweater: Silence & Noise, Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Steve Madden
Purse: unknown shop, Paris
Earrings: American Eagle