Hello Hello

So... I've been gone for a long time...

I've been working (and working... and working...) and feeling crappy about life & all kinds of things, and I've come to the realization that I really need to start blogging again. 

Inspired (as always) by Jessica's recent purse post and other blogger's makeup bag posts, I'm kicking off my return to blogging with a quick peek inside both my makeup bag AND my purse

I've had this makeup bag since I first started wearing makeup... maybe I was 14? So it's almost 10 years old. It's super grimy and I keep thinking I should get a new one, but I just can't part with it. When I bought the bag, it was the first time I had found something in a store that I had seen a celebrity use in a magazine. It was such a big deal...

Bag: St. Tropez Essentials

Makeup (Clockwise from left)

Bobbi Brown Face Touchup Stick in Sand

Chanel Eyeshadow Duo in Taupe

Sephora Black Collection Bronzer & Foundation Brushes

Clinique Shimmering Stripes Blush in Peony

Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Black/Brown

Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen in Black

DiorShow Mascara in Black

Revlon Growluscious Mascara in Blackest Black

Not Pictured (because I left it in my bathroom) Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in Nude (BEST ever... you seriously need to try it.)

My purse is a little bit of a different story... As you can see, I definitely seem to be having a little overkill on the leopard print lately. I've been using leopard as a neutral and was THRILLED to finally find the most amazing leopard scarf that I've been throwing on with everything. Seriously. My guy friends are always asking why I'm wearing that "animal thing" again.

Anyway, I've been carrying this amazing Coach bag for a few years now and the leather has aged to this lovely deep brown color. It was given to me by my dad a few years ago, and when I received it, it came smelling SO awful that I had to air it out on the deck for a few days before it was carryable. According to Coach, the bag was made of vintage leather and that smell can be a side effect? Anyway, it's the perfect size for my iPad (which is perfect because I take my iPad everywhere...) and my pink Marc Jacobs pouch that holds everything I carry. I purchased the pouch when I started working at Nordstrom because my regular purse is too big to fit in my little box in the stockroom. The pouch is way more attractive than the clear plastic bags Nordstrom provides for employees. Plus it can double as a clutch when I go out on weekends!

In addition, I always have my (apparently discontinued) Smashbox Tinted Lip Treatment in place of lipstick, Laura Mercier concealer pencil, cuticle oil, La Source handcream, eye drops, and Ray Ban Wayfarers. My camera's usually thrown in there as well... Just in case.

(this is me at a recent event I attended... my camera was left behind in the car so I had to rely on friends for a few quick snapshots, and no full on outfit shots!)

tuesday market

Every Tuesday there's an outdoor market on Fountain Square... I'd never been, and I was super excited to look around at the booths - local artists, organic farmers... all the best stuff was there!

jewelry made by Joyce Signs and Barb Stonebraker of JoyStone Jewelry - their pieces are absolutely gorgeous. If you're in the Cincinnati area on a Tuesday afternoon, you should stop by their booth!

shirtdress: H&M

cropped tights: HUE

shoes: TOMS

Trains

The quality of the pictures still isn't great - I'm crossing my fingers that after my first paycheck next week I'll be able to take my good camera to the shop to be fixed... if not, I'm going to have to save up for a replacement...

The office in the museum where I intern is REALLY cold, so I'm always trying to wear something bright but still kind of warm.  This outfit is a thick jersey dress from H&M under an AMAZING sequined skirt I found in the back of my closet when I moved back home...

The skirt is all primary colors accented with silver sequins, and the print is an old-fashioned train station. I wish I could remember where I got it! I've definitely had it since high school, but I have no memory of buying it or ever wearing it... I guess it'll be a mystery! The tag says "Papillon Los Angeles," which is the same brand as a dress I love... but it still doesn't help any!

dress: H&M

skirt: mystery purchase by Papillon

shoes: forever 21

Mercurial

it is HOT HOT HOT in Cincinnati right now... in between my TWO jobs (a summer internship at the Contemporary Art Center and a permanent job at the local Nordstrom) I was able to meet up with my friend Arielle for a few quick snapshots and an iced coffee...

my absolute FAVORITE summer cardigan (confession: i wear it in the winter, too...) - I got it at Anthropologie right before I went away to college FIVE years ago... I think I maybe wore it once until my junior year, but ever since then I've been wearing it with everything. The appliques are getting loose and it's getting a little dingy, but I'm hoping to get it fixed up a little sometime soon...

New dress, bought with my new discount... I really love the lacy detail

OMG sparkly gold TOMS... when they catch the sun, they're absolutely blinding. Super comfortable, but definitely not for the faint of heart (also purchased with my new discount...)

Arielle, my lovely photographer...

cardigan: moth for anthropologie

dress: soprano for nordstrom

shoes: TOMS

sunnies: men's dept. in urban outfitters

poppies will put them to sleep...

soooo... a quick word about my new layout...

poppies are my favorite flower by a longshot. it sucks that you never see poppies in flower arrangements, because if they were easy to keep in vases, my room would be full of them all the time.

they're so delicate and papery, and fields of poppies look so gorgeous with the orangey red up against the green of the stems and the blue of the sky. i first fell in love with poppies as a tiny, tiny girl watching The Wizard of Oz - I always wanted to go curl up in that poppy field and fall asleep (not realizing how morbid that scene kind of was...).  it was compounded by my first trip to europe, where my family took a train through the countryside and we flew through field after field of beautiful poppies in france...

someday, if i ever get married, i'm going to find a way to have a bouquet of poppies. then, if i have a daughter, i bet you can guess what my first choice of names would be...

when i move out of my parents' house, i want to have a whole wall of poppy prints - here are some of my favorites...

red poppy: georgia o'keefe

poppies: jean picton

red poppy abstract: margaret little

boys, take note: never send me roses, always send me poppies

scratch that, reverse it...

soooo just kidding. i opened up my inbox today to find a wonderful notification from blogger about it's update template editing tool - i was able to customize WAYYYY more than i was before (which is great, because we all know i don't like to follow the crowd)

anyway, i'm going to try to get this whole blogging thing rolling FOR REAL, in a legit way. i have a friend helping me out with customizing the layout even more - i'm not going to give anything away, but hopefully in the next month or so i'll be all logo-ed out.

tomorrow is my first style "shoot" (and by shoot i mean my lovely photographer friend arielle, a digital camera, and embarrassing myself on a street downtown) in... MONTHS - i've got some great new goodies to show off.

also, i've JUST started working in the shoe department at a local Nordstrom as an in-between while i rack up arts admin experience interning at the Contemporary Art Center. in all likelihood i'm going to be living with my parents FOREVER since i'm surrounded by beautiful shoes all day long... i guess this summer will be an exercise in budgeting...

move!

soooo i've decided to start blogging again... only... i'm not coming back to blogger (at least not for now)

i've decided to take tumblr for a spin... we'll see how long this lasts, so i may be back shortly if i can't figure out how tumblr works... yikes!

www.papergownfashion.tumblr.com

come visit me! ahhh!

Break

Hey Guys!

I'm taking a little break from blogging until I finish my thesis - it's due in a few weeks and I'm about 10 pages to the end!

In the meantime, I'm super excited to have been invited to Lookbook... check me out!

More Relaxing

So, okay, I know I just wore this t-shirt the other day, but I have SERIOUSLY been freaking out lately, so it's only appropriate. Like... I went to visit a friend the other night & I'm pretty sure I totally wigged him out because I was so twitchy...

Anyway, today I had a meeting with one of my professors about the orchestra piece I've been working on for a class project, and then a piano lesson. I didn't sleep a whole lot last night, so I just kind of threw on the first few things I could find. You can tell by my hair that I've been a little disheveled all day. Also totally love my Barbie mug.

T-Shirt: Target

Skirt: H&M

Tights: Express

Mug: Thrifted in small-town PA

Mixing Patterns

I've been admiring the way some of my favorite bloggers mix patterns. As a novice, I wanted to start mixing slowly. I've been REALLY loving these tights lately... I think I posted them a few days ago, but since I picked this skirt up at Target, I've been wanting to pair the two together. To keep the ensemble less busy but still work on the pattern mixing, I added this white T with very subtle grey stripes.

I really love the way this turned out!

plus, secret pockets!! I love skirt pockets...

T-Shirt: Gap

Skirt: Target

Tights: HUE

Nail Experiment

I had a really awful afternoon - I totally blanked out on a French exam and I'm pretty sure I did NOT do well. My stress-reliever? Baking. I made a whole bunch of zucchini bread, some with chocolate chips & some without... It's SO GOOD but I'm trying to give it away now - I really don't need this much zucchini bread...

I also decided to try something new on my nails. I always have to have polish on them since I used to bite them like nobody's business, but I always try to mix it up a little.

The left hand looks fantastic since I have a really steady right hand, but I still have a little bit of a tremor in my left hand so the right nails are less professional looking. Not a complete mess, but just not as even... Still contemplating whether or not it just looks like I have a lot of dirt under my nails...

what do you think?

nail polish: Sinful Colors in 'What's Your Name" - black with green sparkles

I love this brand because it's only $1 a bottle and my drugstore stocks about 40 different colors... whenever I need a pick-me-up, I grab a new bottle!

Luckiest Girl in the World

...or at least in the Target five minutes from my parents' house...

I went to Target last night to pick up my dad a birthday present and a card, and I always like to take a quick spin around the clearance rack in the women's department (I've been trying to buy everything but tights on sale lately)

I perused a few racks & mostly found weirdly made winter basics (you know, those long sleeved t-shirts that are extremely wide & short) BUT by the time I made it to the last rack, I stumbled across a treasure trove:

ALMOST THE ENTIRE RODARTE COLLECTION

it was as if no one had bought anything except for the lace cardigan & the skeleton tunic (the two pieces I really wanted - but I'd never seen them at my Target, so I'm not sure we ever got them in...) By far the most expensive piece was the leopard dress at a whopping $11.25. I picked up a navy tulle blouse, the lace t-shirt, and the leopard dress for under $25. 

I don't think I'm going to get so lucky with Gaultier - the only Target near me carrying it is all the way on the other side of town. I'm not coveting as many of those pieces, though...

Snow Flower

It's no secret that I love minidresses, and this is one of my favorites. I bought it this summer to wear to a party that required something comfortable, cool, and very washable. Forever 21 is one of the best places to find a dress like this, and it's also very winterizeable (my spell check is telling me that's not a word, but I don't really care!)

Today I woke up (well, I couldn't really sleep last night so got up might be a more appropriate term) and it was snowy & dreary. I got these tights at a HUE sale a few days ago - and found out that the HUE store up here in Cleveland is one of only two actual stores.  I feel lucky now because I loooooove their tights! Anyway, I've been hunting for a great pair of green tights & snatched these up before they sold out for St. Patrick's Day. They look a little more yellow in these pictures, but trust me - they're an extremely neon green. When I stopped for coffee this morning, a business man asked me if I needed batteries for them (haha)

I thought they'd go perfectly with this dress - they're close enough to the bright green that the go, but not so close that it's too matchy. With my boots & my big sweater (bought two sizes too big for optimal coziness) I'm feeling like a slightly glammed up version of 90's grunge...

Also, I think this umbrella is adorable. I'm super-fair skinned (you wouldn't know it from my pics because I'm always brightening the colors) and I'm always telling my mom I wish it was more acceptable to carry a parasol around in the summers. She found this at H&M and gave it to me for Valentine's Day. I might just have to bring back the parasol...

Dress: F21

Sweater: Silence & Noise (Urban Outfitters)

Tights: HUE

Boots: Steven, Steve Madden

Umbrella: H&M

Gloves: Ten Thousand Villages

Relax (Don't Do It)

I'd been spoiled by the warmish weather we've been having & woke up absolutely freezing this morning! I dragged myself out of bed and didn't make it much further than my futon before I curled back up & turned on the TV instead of being motivated and working on my thesis before class like I'd planned...

The clothes I put on for the day are barely more than PJs - my little brother's old flannel, my Frankie tee, and some new HUE black denim leggings (I refuse to call them jeggings...)

My hair's getting long enough that I can style it a little - I tried a faux-hawk today & I think it looked pretty awesome. I'm kind of loving it!

This is also my faaaavorite mug. I always drink my coffee out of it in the morning & my tea out of it at night

I wish I'd had more time to do what Frankie says... too bad I have about 40 more pages to write in the next two weeks...

Flannel: American Eagle

Frankie Tee: Target

Leggings: HUE

Socks: Men's dept at Macys (men's socks are always so much warmer than women's!)

Monogrammed Mug: Anthropologie

i'll be your girl backstage at your show

After going to a really fantastic folk night on Sunday night, I woke up feeling rock-starish. All I had all day was 3 hour French class (that's what I get for deciding to try for fluency in a second language)

I pulled out my shiniest skirt & mixed a couple prints (including this leopard cardigan - after leaving it at a friend's for a few days, I've been wearing it with EVERYTHING!)

I look a little washed out though... I need to remember not to forget the blush!

Black T: F21

Cardigan: INC, Macy's

Skirt: Express

Tights: HUE

Boots: Vintage

Salsa Night

This weekend, I sat in on a friend's radio show and then went to Salsa & Meringue night at Oberlin & wore one of my favorite dresses. I bought this a few years at Target, but only in the past year or so I've been able to find ways to wear it that aren't too dressy. I thought the big ruffle at the neck & down the front would be perfect for salsa dancing!

I rolled the tops of my suede booties down because the mouth was so big that they flopped around when I walked. Rolling the tops reveals the silver lining & makes the booties fit a little more snugly. I wore my sheer silvery-purple tights over my deep purple ones to create an opaque effect with the same silvery shade as the boot linings!

You can't really tell (and I forgot to take a photo) but my earrings are tiny clusters of disco balls. Great for catching the light while dancing!

Ice Cold

I got my new booties & my sunnies in the mail today! The boot color is PERFECT - you can't really tell in these pictures because of the overcast, but they're a wonderful deep indigo. The mouth of the shoe is a little wide for my taste, but they'll be great with skinny jeans or my deep blue tights. They'll make their actual debut this weekend when I'm visiting in Oberlin!

I love the sunnies, too - they have a great vintage feel and they were a steal at only $5! Actually, this whole outfit was a steal - other than the leggings, everything was bought WAY on sale. I'm trying to only buy new things on sale to keep my budget down... 

Silk Top: H&M

Leggings: HUE

Sunnies: Urban Outfitters

Booties: Kimchi Blue for Urban Outfitters

Purple Mountains Majesty

Adding a little spice to my standby grey cowl neck dress with some sheer purple tights - you can't tell very much in the photo, but they're kind of shimmer. I can't wait to get my new booties in the mail, these will be PERFECT with them!

Dress: H&M

Tights: H&M

Belt: Vintage from Grandma