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

Fishnets & Wool

It was FREEZING today! But I wanted to show off my new boots, so I pulled out my trusty cowl-neck sweater dress (though it's so short some have argued it's just a sweater...) and some fishnets over sheer black hose.

I'd been eyeing these boots on the Steve Madden website for awhile... I love the look of a feminine outfit paired with heavy lace-up boots... I'd really love a pair of Frye Engineers, but they're a little out of my price range right now!

photo courtesy of Chictopia

Dress: H&M

Tights: Express

Belt: Vintage

Boots: Steven, Steve Madden

Smurfette

I was feeling a little blue this morning, so I was inspired to pull on these tights under the rainbow patterned minidress I hardly ever wear. Comfy and fun... Then when I stepped outside, it was super sunny and my mood instantly rose!

Blue Tights: Hue

Mini Dress: T-Bags (Anthropologie)

Shoes: BCBG Paris

First Day of School

It was my first day back to classes, and the weather was horrendous. I needed something cozy to brave the snow, so I threw on this sweater dress (with a VERY generous cowl) and a pair of thick woolly tights I picked up in Chicago. For a quick pop of color to pull me out of my winter blues, I dug out this bright red Birkin knockoff - it's gorgeous and big enough to carry around a few notebooks... (although, I feel bad calling it a knockoff - I bought it when I was living in Florence, and it's handmade from real leather...)

Dress: H&M

Tights: unknown - picked up in Chicago

Boots: Steve Madden

Bag: Vera Pelle, purchased in Florence

"Fur" Coat

My mom gave me this fantastic faux-fur coat for Christmas. She knew I'd been looking for one, and this one is fantastic because it's obviously fake. My philosophy on fur is if it's not real, it better be obviously fake. I'm not a big fan of fake fur that's trying to look real - it hardly ever works!

This outfit is from my night out to the Met Opera (to see Anna Netrebko in Tales of Hoffmann) - my black slip had already been worn a few time, so I layered the dress over a white tank. Bad plan, because the tank is obvious in the photo. Next time I travel with this dress, I'm going to be sure to bring more than one slip just in case...

these cone-stud fringe earrings are a fantastic purchase (50% off!) at a tiny accessory shop by NYU. I can't remember the name of the shop (Pretty Ladies, maybe?) but I'm in love with these earrings. I also got a two-finger angel wing ring that I'll show on here soon...

sporting my faux-fur with Peruvian accessories and looking a little like a crazy homeless lady at Rockefeller Center...

Faux Fur Coat: Kismet (Cincinnati)

Dress: Kismet

Belt: Abercrombie (old old old!)

Hat & Gloves: Ten Thousand Villages, handmade in Peru

Scarf: street stall, Hawaii (really a sarong)

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!)

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...

Back in Action

Wow, I've been gone a long time!

I kind of decided to take a little break while I finished up my treatments - chemotherapy does not generally mix well with looking cute every day. But now that I'm done, I'm looking forward to really getting this blog rolling!

As a welcome back post, I'm excited to put up a few pictures from the Cincinnati Opera Ball After-Party, which I went to last weekend with my friend Andrew. I found this dress a few weeks ago, and was SO excited to have a reason to buy it. I've been really loving the bib necklace trend, and this dress really, really plays that up. I'm kind of disappointed that the jeweled bib isn't detachable (but there's a good chance I'll change that in the near future and take it off & add a ribbon)

Anyway, I'm back for good now, and hopefully I'll start having some much cuter outfits to share in the future!

My grandparents gave me this crystal bracelet for my birthday, and I LOVE it - but I hardly ever wear it because I'm afraid of losing it! They had bought me the earrings at a craft fair we went to together right after I was diagnosed with cancer, and bought the bracelet later to match. Both are handmade by a close friend of theirs. She's having a sample sale in a few weeks and I can't wait to go - she makes beautiful jewelry out of vintage beads and crystals, but it's SO expensive, so I'm really looking forward to what I might be able to find at a discounted price!

Me with a couple of friends in a candid shot from the party...

Dress: INC, Macy's

Earrings & Bracelet: handmade by local artist

Shoes: thrifted

Mad For Plaid

I was still feeling a little stuffy today, but I had a lot of work to get done. I decided to stay comfy in an old plaid shirt that I stole from my little brother, and spent the day studying for the GRE and practicing The Storm, a piano piece by Bergmuller, for my piano lessons. ...I'm not a very good piano player...

I love this shirt SO MUCH. My little (well, younger... he's 6'3") brother bought it a few years ago for a cowboy-themed dance at his high school, but never wore it after that. I swiped it when he went off to college and love to wear it as a jacket, especially over this green dress.

It was a beautiful day today - I spent most of it on the back porch, re-learning algebra and geometry while Winnie helped...

Flannel Shirt: American Eagle (stolen from brother)

Dress: American Apparel

Cat: Winnie

Bloglovin'

This is an old picture from the summer - James, the wigmaster & makeup artist for the Cincinnati Opera, was doing my makeup for a big party (it was my first day with a buzz haircut, and he made me feel super glam...) My friend Lauren took this photo through the mirror, so it didn't turn out so well, but I love having at least one shot of me getting my makeup done crazy by a professional!

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Falling in Waterfalls

Today it was another unseasonably warm day in the midwest, so I wanted to stick with layers (again, freezing in the morning but 70 by the afternoon)

I bought this dress on the super clearance rack at Target - for good reason... There's absolutely NO way to wear it without something underneath it - it's so sheer, I'd almost think it was supposed to be a slip!

My friend Jess makes thee BEAUTIFUL square scarves out of a super thick yarn with a really loose weave. They're pretty big (about 18"x18") and each has an antique button or pin as a fastener. They're meant to be folded however you want, and I'm not so great with mine - this morning when I put it on, it had a really cool high-collared look, but that kind of wilted into a big mess by the end of the day. The colors are really rich and the yarn is fabulous. She's not up on Etsy yet, but check out her facebook group HERE - everything is completely customizable and she makes them super fast (and ships!)

yummy grilled spinach & cheese sandwich on 7-grain bread for lunch :-)

Dress: Target

Top: Express

Tights: H&M

Scarf: Say It Ain't Sew (custom)

Shoes: Thrifted

Fall? Summer? Who Knows...

So today LOOKED like fall, but it definitely FELT like summer. It was cold when I left this morning, but I knew it was going to heat up, so I threw on some sheer tights under this dress. The thing I like most about this dress is that it's so swingy and has the great detail on the chest/neckline

A nice sequined cranberry cardigan and my standby yellow cotton scarf helped keep away the morning chill...

sequin detail on cardigan, edging detail on dress...

Dress: BCBG

Cardigan: American Eagle

Tights: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: H&M

Scarf: Street stand, Florence, Italy

Necklace: DIY (from purse chains)

Around Ludlow

I had a couple friends visiting from Cleveland, so we stopped down to Ludlow/Clifton and CCM's library. I LOVE this sweater that I'm wearing, and just recently decided to wear it OVER dresses as opposed to with pants or skirts (it's slightly cropped, so it always rides up with the pants & skirts)

You can sort of see that it has crystal buttons down the back - probably my favorite part of the sweater!

Dancing Girl fountain - I wanted to get in and dance with her, but her pedestal wasn't big enough for me to stand on it as well!

This leather jacket is one of my favorite/most expensive articles of clothing. I bought it while I was living in Florence two summers ago, and spent a TON of euros on it. Totally worth the money, though.

Does anyone else have amazing investment pieces that ALMOST didn't seem worth it at the time?

Sweater: Anthropologie

Dress (underneath): American Apparel

Tights: H&M

Jacket: Moda Italia (handmade in Florence)

Scarf: handmade by my little brother

Purse: thrifted, Coach

Shoes: Urban Outfitters