fun with accessories: a safety pin

I love a good conversation-starting piece of jewelry, and this necklace is no exception. I think the safety pin throws most people off, because nearly every time I wear it at least one person has to inspect it a little more closely before pronouncing, "Wow, I love that!" In fact, I can anticipate that anytime I wear it around my BFF I will for sure "lose" it for the remainder of the day. While mine is a sample I picked up from work, I bet it would be pretty simple to emulate: silver chain, large safety pin, lots of a fun charms... viola! 

Oh yeah! And, here's the rest of the outfit I wore with it on Sunday. Lots of layers and repeat offenders from here, here, here, and here.  I just can't get enough!

a few of my favorite things

In a list of my top ten favorite things, autumn would definitely rank toward the top. Oddly enough, the season is also a luxury that I was not accustomed to until about 5 years ago. You see, growing up in the south there were two temperatures: hot and miserable. However, experiencing four distinct seasons has become one of the best parts of moving west. And, autumn has quickly become my favorite of the four. The scenery turns beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow. During the day, my house remains a "just right" temperature with as little as an open window. And, at night I curl up under multiple blankets and listen to the chirping of wildlife in the crisp night air. Not to mention, I get to explore pieces of clothing I never owned as a child. Yesterday, I single-handedly managed to wear, all at once, every piece of clothing I love most. Grey (shut up Joe!) cardigan? check. Skinny jeans? check. Scarf? check. Knee-high boots? check. 
yep, yesterday was just about perfect ;)

fun with accessories!

ring, c/o Tobias Designs; nail polish, Sally Hansen "Wet Cement"

It is my fashion belief that there are two things every girl must have fun with regardless of age: jewelry and nail polish. This weekend I had a blast with both (more details later this week!), and it all started on Friday with some Silly Bandz. Yes, I know my age. I got enough crap from my husband that evening when I wore them to dinner with his family. However, my Silly Bandz wound up being a hit with everyone, when after two pitchers of margaritas we ended up playing "guess what animal this Silly Band is" before shooting them at each other! 

Then, on Saturday this beautiful little ring became the newest piece in my collection. I love how the pops of colors look like they are bursting out of the ring! It makes me think of balloons or confetti... or maybe popcorn (that was actually my BFF's interpretation). Either way, I had fun. Oh yeah, and I painted my nails grey :) 

So, tell me dear readers, what did you do for fun this weekend?

raise your head high, and strut what ya Mama gave ya!

Do you ever have outfit ideas that you just can't seem to get rid of? I do, and Saturday was one of those days. Since the Modcloth skirts I ordered two weeks ago had finally arrived I just had to break them out. However, I also had a strange pull toward another article of clothing in my closet: cowboy boots. For some reason these two pieces came together in my head so clearly that I knew I would not be happy until I made the look work. But, after trying on 5 different tops and taking exactly 25 photos on the front porch, I began to question my outfit and called my BFF to ask him what he thought.... 

Well, let's just say that he didn't exactly give me the stamp of approval I was searching for (in my defense, he did grow up in Texas!)... 

Then in a strange twist, he said "but I know you, and you'll rock the look." Huh?! You just told me you wouldn't laugh at me too hard if I wore it to lunch (yes, we're that good of friends) and now you're telling me I'll rock it? He then went on to explain that he knew I'd look great because of my confidence. Fair enough. I've always believed that confidence is what makes a look, and I still do (see #5). So, I threw on that 6th top (the one I'm wearing here) and my cowboy boots and strutted my stuff all the way to Starbucks, to lunch and then home to study. And, did not question my sartorial decision again! 

a tale of two shoes

cardigan, Old Navy $15; dress, Gianni Bini via Dillards $40, heels, Bakers $40

Of course it goes without saying that I am slightly obsessed with shoes. I don't discriminate; I obsess over all of my shoes equally. However, these caged heels hold a particularly special place in my heart (and not just because they're freakin' hott!). No, this pair is extra special because my BFF bought them for me over the weekend. Now, allow me to explain a bit more... 

Almost a year and a half ago my best friend, Joe, made a very important decision that would drastically change his life - he underwent lap band surgery. We both knew this would mean big changes in the months ahead; however, at the time I don't think that either of us could have imagined exactly how big. Now, 1 year and 4 months later he is a svelte 190 pounds lighter and much healthier (you must go read about his journey)!

So, I bet you're wondering right about now where these heels enter into this story. Well, he and I love to shop (duh!). So, somewhere along his amazing journey we decided that as a reward, every time he met a 30 pound weight loss goal we would go shoe shopping and he would buy a new pair for himself. The months passed and he quickly lost 30 pounds, then 90 pounds, then 120 pounds. And, as he approached losing a whopping 180 pounds, he looked at me one day over lunch and said that when he reached his next goal he did not want to buy shoes for himself... he wanted to buy shoes for me. 

Joe, my darling, you are amazing and it has been my privilege to be by your side throughout your wonderful transformation! I loved the old you and I love the new and improved you just as much. It is my honor to be able to call you my BFF. xo, Gracie

Mama Monster!

Lady Gaga on the big screen during her opening monologue

Oh my goodness! To say that this weekend was a little bit of fun would be a huge understatement. We danced, sang, screamed, and savored every moment of the experience. Coming back to reality this week has been a little rough, but I did want to share a few pictures my BFF captured during the concert. 

I'll try to get some outfit pics cleaned up and ready for posting sometime this week. I was so consumed with the whole experience that I must admit that photo taking took a little bit of a backseat. There are times where some things are just more important :) 

One of many outrageously wonderful wardrobe changes

The beginning of Bad Romance

Going Gaga!

The weekend my BFF and I have been not-so-patiently waiting for has finally arrived!  We're leaving for the Lady Gaga concert in St. Louis tomorrow!  I will be back next week with lots of pictures and videos.  Have a great weekend, dear readers!

I'm with the band...

shades, Jessica Simpson; tee, c/o my BFF; shorts, Gap; bag, Payless sample; shoes, Payless

I totally felt like a groupie on Monday.  My BFF made these shirts for us last year (to play off of the Will & Grace theme... get it?!) and it was such a beautiful day that I decided to break out the new pair of shorts I bought on Saturday as well as my super, fabulous clog inspired Alicia + Olivia for Payless heels.  I don't normally wear shorts, but I fell in love with the little bow on the front.  In addition to being a fun outfit, it made my legs look a gazillion miles long (that's a technical term, of course).  So, after the BFF and I had lunch, we hung out at my house, listened to music and were completely fabulous.  I love three day weekends :)

  

Cruisin' Together

shades, Payless sample; scarf, New York & Co; dress, Gap; shoes, Payless sample

Welcome back!  I hope you were able to enjoy a relaxing long weekend, dear readers!  I must admit that mine did not dissapoint.  You see, for the better part of the last 4 years I have worked a string of schedules that involved working most holidays (ah, the joy of retail!).  So, the concept of having days like Memorial Day or Labor Day or sometimes even Thanksgiving Day off, still seems a bit foreign.  But, I loved every minute of this weekend.  Saturday, especially, was fantastic! My BFF and I decided to celebrate the start of the holiday weekend by doing a little cruisin' in the convertible followed by margaritas on the patio.  The warmth of the sun, a gentle breeze through my hair and laughs with a great friend equals a pretty amazing day :)

"Walk, Walk Fashion Baby"

The past couple of weeks have been so busy that I have not even had a chance to tell you my exciting news...

My BFF and I have tickets to see Lady Gaga in St. Louis in July! 

It should come as no surprise that I am already thinking about my wardrobe for such a special occassion - especially the shoes.  The above three pair are from Christian Siriano's spring runway show that I was lucky enough to snag from work a couple of weeks back.  The curved 6 inch heels on these are so outrageously awesome, I can't think of a more perfect selection from which to choose.  Can you pick out which pair I'll be sporting to the show?  In honor of the Lady herself, the snakeskin and sequined pair front and center will be my footwear of choice.  Now I just need to find the rest of my costume...

Lay Off Of My Black Suede Shoes

Top: Victoria Secret Tee, $9.99;  Belt: Simply Vera Vera Wang for Kohl's, $5.60;  

skirt: Kohl's, $18;  patterned tights: vintaged, $4; shoes: Steve Madden, $110

This morning I woke up with the desire to feel a little girly and I knew exactly what I wanted to wear: heels and patterned tights (and Joe, the pencil skirt is for you, honey!).  The result was the above outfit, which I enjoyed every minute of wearing.  The shoes are my favorite part.  I bought them 3 days before our wedding to wear to our dress rehearsal and dinner.  Yes, I bought a pair of shoes for the occasion… were you really surprised?

Success!

hat, Payless sample; coat, Kohl's $18 (originally $180); skirt, Old Navy $6;

cardigan and t-shirt, Old Navy $15 & $5; tights, Target $7; Boots, Dolce Vita from Nordstrom's $90 

Lately, I haven't felt like I had much success in the shopping department.  But, I can successfully say that my drought ended today.  Although not what I thought I was going out to find, I am very satisfied with the end result (and, gasp - no shoes were purchased!).  You see, originally I thought I would spend the day vintaging (a term coined by my BFF and I in reference to "thrifting"), but after our usual Saturday afternoon lunch his parting words with me were, "wait, don't go today and we'll go together later!"  So in order to honor his request I decided to forgoe a day vintaging and instead hit up some other favs - TJ Maxx and Kohl's.  The jacket I'm wearing in the picture is probably the purchase I'm most proud of.  Remember me browsing these wools coats?  Well, my browsing days are over as I found exactly what I was looking for and at an excellent price!  I call that success, indeed!

Gratitude: The Old School Way

This morning I decided that since my husband and I will have officially been married for 3 months tomorrow, it might be a good time to finish writing our thank you cards.  Being raised by a proper southern woman, I was taught the importance at an early age of showing gratitude when others do nice things for you.  I can remember as a child hand writing thank you cards after birthdays and Christmas, and then when I got older, after both graduations.  So, writing wedding thank you's (granted there are a lot more of these) doesn't particularly bother me.  However, it did get me thinking about how technology has changed the rules of etiquette.  Or, if it even has at all.  I can't tell you the last time I hand wrote anything.  Everything I do is saved on my computer and when I need to send anything out, it is sent through email.  We did manage to send out a few Christmas cards this year, but even still you can go to Walgreens where your pictures and your holiday cheer are printed out by a machine, then come home and print mailing labels on your computer.  No writing, no signing, no nothing.  Neither of us get paper bank statements anymore, it all goes straight to our email and we check it on our iPhones.  I get texts from my favorite department stores about upcoming sales.  This Christmas we even received some E-Christmas cards from friends.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that our snail mail to email ratio per day is 1:10, at least.  But, while I am definitely a Gen Y'er and love my technology (I would rather type in Word over handwrite anyday), for me it still hasn't changed Thank You cards.  Maybe that's the southern woman in me, but I think gratitude should be thoughtfully sent the old school way. 

Got to give credit where credit is due.  Cards designed by my BFF Joe Currin

Now, this chic is going back to writing.  Have a great Saturday afternoon and, if you're in the midwest try to keep warm!

A Little End of Year Self-Reflection

I was reading Joe's blog earlier this afternoon and it got me thinking a little bit about the year I have had and what I want going forward.  Every year about this time, I sit down and write out a list of goals and timelines for the upcoming year.  However, I honestly don't think I could ask anymore from 2009 which means 2010 has a lot of work to do to live up to the same standards.  In case you weren't around for the entire year, here's the run down in as few words as possible. 

January - entered 2nd semester of the Washburn MBA program
February - my BFF successfully got his lapband and changed his life completely (which I have been so blessed to be able to be a part of)
May - completed 2nd semester of MBA program, still with 4.0
July - made a career change, which I couldn't be more happy with
August - completed 1st upper level class in MBA program, still with 4.0
September - entered 4th semester in MBA; flew home to celebrate upcoming nuptials with friends and family
October - married the BEST man in the entire world!

November - went on the BEST honeymoon ever!

December - celebrated my husband's 31st birthday, celebrated my 26th birthday, finished my 4th semester in MBA program with an A and B and overall GPA 3.7 (not too bad for getting married during the same semester)

Like I said, 2009 has been about as good a year as I could have ever imagined, which means 2010 has high standards to meet.  So, I guess instead of looking back to set goals it is best to just look forward.  For the new year, I want only to continue learning about myself and striving to be the best I can be.  I am still learning how to be a good wife.  I am still learning in my new job.  I am still learning how to be a good daughter from 1000 miles away.  I am still learning how to be a faithful servant.  I am still learning how to be a good BFF.  In short, I am still learning how to do a lot of things, so I guess 2010 will be a good year to work on a little fine tuning. 

2010, look out... I am headed your way!

Flowers

While I didn't realize it at the time, the inspiration for this entry really hit me a little over two months ago.  You see, I got married the first weekend of October and to celebrate the day before with my closest friends, I took my girls (love you Joe!) to get our nails done.  Of course my BFF had to come with, and while he didn't really want to have his nails painted he was all for getting a pedicure and even let me pick out his toe nail polish - did I mention he is a GOOD friend?!

Side note: Back in October I started noticing a lot of greens in this season's nail polish shades and oddly enough I was really drawn to it!  In fact, I'm currently wearing the shade you see above, Sephora by OPI Ocean Love Potion.  It is a very flattering shade and I feel very festive wearing it!

So, back to the story: when my BFF asked me to pick out his toe nail polish I picked a similar shade to the color you see above.The greatest part of this story, and the whole day, was that here I am with my girls and my BFF getting our toes and nails done and instead of the Bride (me) being doted on, I look over to see two little Asian women hanging all over Joe!  He has one buffing his finger nails and the other massaging his feet.  And the priceless moment came when the one working on his feet looks up and askes, "you want a flower?"  As in painted on his big toe!  I immediately chimed in, "YES!  Two!"