North Meets South

Gotta dance!

2012-02-10T18:03:00.002-05:00

Dress/shoes: hand-me-down, Cardi/Tights: gift, Necklace: Target

I have two items of business for this fine Friday.

1. Kayla’s challenge was a swift quick in the pants for mywinter wardrobe - I was wearing basically all black every.single.day. Yeesh. In aneffort to keep my outfits out of the doldrums, I’ve decided to do a fewcolorful ensembles every week, and what better way to start that off than with ared dress?

2. Most of this outfit was free. Heck, a lot of it was hand-me-downs. And seriously, howawesome are hand-me-downs! Liz had this dress languishing in her closet andasked if I wanted to save it from the Goodwill bin. Heck yes I did! And thensee these sweet, vintage-y oxfords? Kayla bought them, realized they were toobig, and offered them to me, a.k.a. she-who-has-clown-sized-feet. They arrive, and I fell in love.

Don’t theyremind you of tap shoes? They make me want to dance!

Would you believe that I never took a single tap lesson in my life?Shocking, I know.

P.S. I'm sorry I've been slow to respond to emails and comments. With busy season at work, night classes and no internet at home, my email time is severely limited. I promise I will reply!

Movin' on Up

2012-02-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

Found on Pinterest. Original source not found.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen that, like George and Weezie, Spencer and I are movin' on up to the East Side! Currently living in Hell's Kitchen, our move to the White Bread World will be like going from West Side Story to Gossip Girl. I mean, we will be living between Park Avenue and Lexington. How snooty does that sound?
Quite the Cinderella move.

Had enough of the pop culture references? Yeah, me too.

So this is actually our third apartment in the city, but our first time out of our neighborhood.
And changing neighborhoods is like moving to another state.

Don't believe me?
Moving a mere 3.68 miles changes everything.
We will attend a different congregation in a different church building.
We will use different subway and bus lines.
We will shop at different grocery stores.
We will go from a crazy nightlife neighborhood to a quiet,family-oriented neighborhood.
Everything will be different!
(Except we can walk across and down and be right back where we used to live.)

If you still don't believe me, Natalie said it best here.

So why the move?
Besides wanting to get away from our crazy play-blasting-music-at-all-hours neighbors and the bars downstairs?
We get a bedroom!
In the 2 1/2 years we've lived in the city, we've never had a bedroom, and I have never been more excited for to have an extra wall in my house.
And I get my own closet! I haven't had that either!
So for a mere $18 more in rent, we get a bedroom wall, another closet, a huge kitchen, all just 2 blocks away from Central Park.
I am thrilled! February 29th can come soon enough!

But good thing Spencer goes to NYU because this hot-blooded girl needs a downtown man.
Ok, sorry, no more Billy Joel.

City Scenes: S.A.D. or Saturday Afternoon Downtown

2012-02-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Spencer and I decided to take advantage of one of our last weekends in Midtown (what?!?! come back tomorrow to learn more...) and walked on down to Downtown.

We went down the High Line, our favorite park, to check out some beloved, psychedelic buildings:

Spencer: What's DVF?

Me: Sigh...

FLOWERS!!! Spring is coming!!

Spencer stopped by NYU, and I listened to the piano man in Washington Square Park.

Not pictured: I fulfilled a life's goal by eating from the N.Y. Dosa cart, and it lived up to it's fame. Oh! the coconut sauce was SO good! The coconut sauce!

In SoHo, we hung out in an indoor park and took pictures of strangers.

To top it off, we ate Spanish churros with friends, and oh.my.goodness. I hadn't had chocolate like that since I left Spain.

The day ended with bang as we ate homemade enchiladas (yeah, I'm that good), and I watched Rudy for the first time. To get in to the football mood, of course.

P.S. Even though is no photographic evidence, I swear Spencer came with me. As my paparazzi.

2 Lies and a Truth

2012-02-07T10:05:00.000-05:00

Sweater: hand-me-down, Shirt: Spencer's, Skirt: thrifted, Shoes: Urban Outfitters

I know it looks like I took these photos in the evening time.

That's a lie.

It was like 3 in the afternoon, but a not-so-well-placed skyscraper made it look like 5 or 6.

I know it looks like I braved a cold, February day without any tights.

That's a lie.

I wore these tights but took them off as soon as we got home from church and was too lazy to put them back on.

(We get out of church at noon, and I wanted to wait to take photos so the light would be good. We all know how well that worked out.)

But instead of on the negativity and deception in this post, let's focus instead on how awesomely pink my new lipstick is.

And that it only cost me 99 cents.

Only $1?!?!

Day 10: Something that Scares Me

2012-02-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

Button-up: Spencer's, Shirt: hand-me-down, Pants: TJ Maxx, Shoes: Payless, Necklace: gift

I had an epiphany while wearing this outfit: men and women have different body shapes.

(I know, I know, how am I not a Rhodes Scholar?)

I realized this because Spencer's shirt fit me all funny - it was absurdly huge in the shoulders/arms, perfectly loose in the waist, and embarrassingly tight in the hips. (I almost couldn't get that last button buttoned. Yikes!)

And to prove that wasn't a fluke, here are some other examples of our differing body shapes:

Spencer's cheeks are sunken in.

Mine are like unto a baby's.

Spencer's shoulders are broad.

Mine are narrow.

Spencer's hips are slim.

Mine are ~~wide ample~~ fit for childbirth.

Spencer's tall.

I'm short.

Spencer's chest is flat.

Mine is...oh dang, mine is too.

Now do you believe me? If you don't, well...that's a biology lesson I'm not gonna give you.

As for what scares me, wearing a tight shirt and tight pants together scare me. I did it, and it still scares me. I think it can only be pulled off with black. Also, teasing my hair scares me, but I teased the snot out of my short, little ponytail to bring you the big(ish) bun you see on top of my head.

All in all, I felt rather brave in this outfit.

In the words of Michael Scott, I Braveheart.

Go here to see what other people are afraid of.

Open to Interpretation: Electric and Link-up

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Once more, here is Kayla's inspiration pick:

J.Crew

As I said before, I LOVED the color of the skirt, but I had nothing in that color! Curses!

But I also was entranced by the combination of electric colors and neutrals, so I decided to go with that.

Here's my interpretation:

Cardigan/Shirt: thrifted, Pants/Boots: H&M

I love that Spencer focused on my earring, and everything else is fuzzy. Lol!

While it wasn't my favorite outfit, I did like the pop of color against the neutrals and think i will incorporate that into other outfits. Additionally, you should know that I took these photos in the rain, and I hadn't washed my hair for 4 days.

You are welcome.

Now for the fun part! Check out Amy's and Kayla's outfits and link up your own!

Open to Interpretation: Reminder

2012-02-01T10:33:00.000-05:00

Just a quick reminder about the link-up for Open to Interpretation tomorrow!

Once more, here's the inspiration:

J.Crew

Come back tomorrow to link-up and to see all the interpretations.

Confused? Go here for more details.

Day 7: Dress Colorfully

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

Shirt: hand-me-down, Dress folded into skirt: giveaway win, Tights/Necklace: Target, Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Nothing like bright tights and red lipstick to give you some color in the winter.

Go see the rest of the winter bright's here.

Day 6: Decade/Region

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Can you guess what decade I decided to do for today's challenge?

Dress: H&M, Leggings: online somewhere, Boots: Anouk via Gilt

Yeah, baby! The swingin' 60's, yeah!

I saw this dress at H&M during the holidays and instantly adored it's 60's vibe with the shift cut geometric patterns. And for $5? Done! Afterwards, I secretly hoped someone would throw a 60's party or that Halloween would come like 9 months early (a girl could dream, right?), so I could wear the dress.
Then, lo and behold! Kayla announces a decade day!
I didn't even have to think twice.

When I think of the 60's, this is who I think of:

Well, I tried.

Go over to Kayla's to see what other decades/regions people did.

Open to Interpretation: Inspiration

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hey - guess what! Next week is another Open to Interpretation for All!

This time we will all be interpretating one of Kayla's picks.

Here's what she chose:

J.Crew

Isn't that color amazing! I now want to fill my closet with electric teal.

As for the rules...there aren't any.

All you have to do is wear an interpretation of this outfit.

Note: that doesn't mean you have to copy this!

You can if you want, or you can interpret the colors, the patterns, the shape, etc. It's up to you.

Then, on Thursday, February 2nd, you link up to either Amy, Kayla or me (using either a blog post or any photo-sharing website. your choice), and we all get to see each other's interpretations.

That's my favorite part!

I LOVED last round of OTI for All and am so psyched for this one!

I hope you join in!

Day 5: Pattern Mix

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Cardi: sweater swapped and snipped by me, Shirt/Skirt/Belt: thrifted, Shoes: Steve Madden via DSW, Tights: gift

The patterns here go from big to medium to small.

In case you hadn't noticed, I had gotten out of the fashion blogging groove.

I blame it on the fact that it's always dark - before and after work.

And since I wasn't posting outfits on the blog, I let them slide in real life. I even wore the same outfit twice! *gasp!* Or more! *double gasp!*

Then along comes Kayla's challenge, and bless her for it, because it reminded me that getting dressed can be fun! It also reminded me that I can wear this skirt a million times and STILL find new ways to remix it.

(seen here, here, here, here and here.)

Whether or not that means I will start posting more outfits on the blerg, I dunno.

But I've definitely enjoyed it this past week.

Oh, and I luuuurve patterns.

The end.

Who is Betty Draper...

2012-01-26T16:39:00.001-05:00

For heidikins

(both pics on Pinterest with sadly no source)

Day 4: Channel Someone

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Turtleneck: H&M, Dress: Kate Spade thrifted, Shoes: Steve Madden, Pearls: gift

Now when it comes to channelling someone, my natural instinct is Audrey Hepburn (like here and here), but since this is for a challenge, I wanted to do someone else.

We-ell, I didn't get too far because I stayed in the same era and landed on Betty Draper instead.

Whoops. So much for pushing myself.

But let's be honest - Betty would never be caught dead in white after Labor Day. And the ponytail? Do I really think the Betty Draper would have her hair in a ponytail? Really? She might if she were running late like I was, but Betty Draper wouldn't be running late. Only 21st century slackers (and people that aren't tv characters) run late.

Visit Kayla to see who else was channelled.

P.S. Love my snooty, Betty-Draper faces? I do!
P.P.S. Snooty? Snotty.

Day 3: Embrace a Trend

2012-01-25T09:15:00.000-05:00

Shirt/watch: Spencer's, Skirt: hand-me-down, Belt: thrifted, Tights/Shoes: gift

When Kayla told me that one of the challenges was to embrace a trend, my immediate response was ".............." eventually followed by "uhhhhhh" eventually followed by "What's trendy right now?"

Seriously, what kind of fashion blogger am I?

Kayla, the ever-with-it blogger, quickly rattled off a list of current trends, some of which I've already embraced, some of which I would like to embrace but would have to purchase clothes to do, and some of which I will never do. (Neon? With my skin tone? Heck to the no.)

Then she said military-inspired, and I immediately thought, "Haven't don't that one. And Spencer has the perfect shirt!" (Note the shoulders.)

Done and done.

So how did I do? Did I take it too literally?

And don't forget to see what other trends people are doing over at Kayla's.

Day 2: Monochromatic

2012-01-24T09:16:00.001-05:00

Cardigan/Tights: H&M, Skirt: DownEast, Shirt:hand-me-down, Shoes: ???

When I've gone monochromatic in the past, I did blue, grey or brown. Yeah, super exciting stuff over here.
So this time, I decided to be a bit wild and go for all RED.
I know! Can I be any crazier?!?!
Considering that I wore head-to-toe red, risking looking like a ketchup bottle and confusing cabbies on the street, I would say no, but to be honest, I actually loved this look, especially the two-tones of red together (which I originally thought would look horrendous).

So maybe I'm not crazy? Nah...pretty sure I still am.
To see the other monochromatic looks, head over to Kayla's.

P.S. Looking at these old posts, I realized just how short my hair was! Dang!

Day 1: Layers

2012-01-23T10:44:00.000-05:00

Sweater/shirt: thrifted, jeans: Levi's, Shoes: Clark's Wallabees, Beanie: Spain

All good things come in layers: Mexican dip, trifles, parfaits,ogres.

As for this blog, that could also be cardigans, button-ups, belts,watches.

Sometimes I like to make my layers as complex as explaining thenecessity of me needing ever more shoes Spencer, but today I decided to go simplewith the sweater over the cardigan, and the rarely-used layer - a hat.

Less ismore is my motto…except for when it comes to shoes.

Then, there is nosuch thing as too much.

Go here for more layers.

10-Day Challenge

2012-01-20T11:18:00.000-05:00

Do you love my outfit of the day posts? Does your day revolve around what I wear? If you have been pining away for more outfit posts (if you've even noticed that I do way less), then you are in luck!
The next two weeks will be all outfit posts!
Every weekday!
Why?
Because I will be in participating in Kayla's 10-Day Challenge, and you should too!*

The 10-Day Challenge is a remix of her 21-Day Challenge, but shorter, simpler, and winterized. I love 2 out of 3 of those things! I'm very excited about this next round as the last one was tons o' fun.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here is Kayla's explanation of it all, and if you are really bored, you can check out my outfits from the 21-Day Challenge.

*This paragraph is to be read like the Oxyclean man would. The original Oxyclean guy, but you can do the Aussie if you like.

Open to Interpretation: Menswear

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

It was my week to choose, and I decided to go with something a little bit different.

Here's the inspiration I chose:

Photo by Scott Schuman for the The Sartorialist. Use with permission.

I love the blue/green color combo and the sweater vest! It's fantastic! I tried to incorporate that into my interpretation:

Skirt/belt/cardigan chopped to vest: thrifted, Button-up: AE, Shoes: Gift

I kinda wanted to wear a tie, and Spencer had the perfect one. It had the exact same blue and green, but it also just happened to be the ONE tie he took to Utah. The one out of the millions he owns! What are the odds!

Him being gone also meant that I had to go back to the old "point and click on the ledger" maneuver. Yeah, I missed Spencer, too.

Now go check out Kayla* and see what she did for this menswear OTI.

*Amy is sitting this round out. Something about her photographer being out of town, moving, life outside of blogging, blah, blah, blah. Go let her know that she is sorely missed!

P.S. The next round of Open to Interpretation will be another OTI for all! Come back next week for the inspiration, and I hope you join in!

In New York

2012-01-18T10:23:00.000-05:00

Photo by Two if by Sea Photography

In case you haven't noticed, I love this ol' town of mine. And this city can be a bit quirky compared to the rest of the US. Here are a few of my observations:

In the rest of America, if you live in a 900 sq. ft. abode, you live in a hut.

In New York, if you live in a 900 sq. ft. abode, you live in a palace.

In the rest of America, if you cross the street without the "Walk" signal, you are jay-walking.

In New York, hold on...you are supposed to wait for a signal?

In the rest of America, the Average Joe has a carand only the filthy rich have someone drive them around.

In New York,the Average Joe has someone drive them around and only the filthy rich have acar.

In the rest of America, some of the best food comes from fancy restaurants and costs a lot.

In New York, some of the best food comes from the street and costs beans (bagels, lamb over rice, gyros, yum!)

In the rest of America, most people aren't "famous" and a famous person is the odd-man-out.

In New York, everyone's famous, and the not-famous person is the odd-man-out (like me. wah-wah).

In the rest of America, if you wear all black, you are "goth."

In New York, if you wear all black, you are every single person in Midtown.

New Yorkers, anything to add? And non-New Yorkers, what are some quirky things about your town?

Friday Favorites

2012-01-13T09:55:00.001-05:00

I opened my medicine cabinet to see this. It stays up until Spencer gets back from skiing in Utah.

Have you seen Jason Wu's line for Target? Finally a collaboration I would buy!

This post makes me want to do another set of resolutions. I especially love her April, probably because I'm turning 25 this year too. *gulp!*

Kate Spade is on Pinterest! Of course, everything on their boards is beautiful. Talk about pin-spirational.

Elaine tweeted this really intersesting, and applicable, article about mindful eating the other day. I may not think before I eat, but I'm thinking about thinking before I eat. That's mindful eating, right?

Want to know what my family was laughing at and quoting non-stop over the holidays? Just this silly, little song sung by a silly, little dictator.

"The Look"

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

Source.

Have you heard of "Hart of Dixie"?

It's a tv show about a New York doctor (Rachel Bilson) that takes over her dead father's practice in Bluebell, Alabama and all of her misadventures with trying to fit in with the small, Southern town.

I had no idea what it was until the Fug Girls started talking about it, but even then, I didn't watch it until The Time of the TV (a.k.a. Decemeber, a.k.a. Spencer studying for finals in the library until midnight every night). During The Time of the TV, our tv is on constantly because hello! Spencer's studying all.the.time. Oh yeah, and because we don't have internet at home anymore.

So anyway, I had the tv on a random channel one night, and I happened to catch the end of Hart of Dixie, and O.M.Goodnes. They had it. They had "The Look."

Nothing tugs at my hopeless-romantic heartstrings more than "The Look." Any self-respecting chick flick has "The Look," and it always involves a hot guy, a pretty girl, a good song, and that sweet, sweet realization that hoy guy has feelings for pretty girl and that pretty girl just might have feelings for hot guy too, gosh darn it.

So once I saw "The Look" on Hart of Dixie, I was hooked, and it's actually pretty good.

Goodness knows I love any show set in a small town (I'm looking at you, Gilmore Girls), and this show also makes me nostalgic for my beautiful home state (although the show always talks about Montgomery like it's the big city, haha!). On the flip side, I kinda hate how all the Southern women are stuck in 1960 and how some of the actors butcher the accent. Sigh, I guess no tv show is perfect.

Ok, enough blather. Watch "The Look" below and then tell me your favorite "Look" scenes.
I'm also partial to the "just breathe" scene in Ever After. You know the one, when Drew Barrymore shows up at the ball, sees the prince from afar, and says to herself "just breathe."
Shivers. Every single time.

("The Look" scene starts at 1:45, but watch the whole thing - that song is awesome.)

EBEW: Black and White

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't done Everybody, Everywear in a while, but when I saw that January's prompt was black and white, I knew it was time to participate again. In these dreary New York winters (which hasn't actually been all that dreary this year - knock on wood), I wear black and white a LOT. But I also usually throw in some other color, even if it's just grey, so to do exclusively black and white was a bit of a challenge.

Shirt/Dress: thrifted, Shoes: Target, Tights/Necklace: gift

When planning my outfit, I had to constantly remind myself, "No, can't wear that. No, can't wear that."
I might have cheated a bit tho with my cuffs, though. Stupid Burberry!

But I did make sure my outerwear was black and white.

Is that dedication or what?

In Celebration

2012-01-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

You know how all wedding anniversaries have a type? Like oneis the paper, another is tin, another is gold, etc. I think the 3^rdwedding anniversary is the “eat tons of Peruvian food and walk until your feetfall off” anniversary because that’s what Spencer and I did this past weekendto celebrate ours*.

On Friday, we took a long trek to a Peruvian restaurantcalled Pio Pio, and I gotta say, it’s was totally worth walking the twobuildings down. We had food coming out of our ears, we ate so much and stillhad leftovers for Saturday. And then on Saturday, we walked around basically allof Manhattan. Orat least all of uptown. Don’t believe me? Here’s what our route roughly lookedlike:

We crossed midtown to 3^rd Ave, walked up to E. 90^th,cut back in towards 5^th Ave, went to the Jewish Museum, entered Central Park, moseyed around the reservoir, traipsed afew blocks up to W. 96^th, headed west to Broadway, and then draggedour feet down Broadway, back to our apartment in the W. 40s. Oh, and stopped atthe grocery store on the way down.

At the Jewish Museum

Lookin' all hard-core with our organic lollipops by the Jackie O. Reservoir.

Are we crazy? Possibly. Do I love it? Most definitely.

Thereis no better way to celebrate 3 wonderful years of marriage than enjoyingbeautiful weather (it was in the 50s!) while walking in the city I love with the man I love.

It wasjust one of those weekends when I couldn’t stop saying, “Gosh, I love ourcity.”

So Happy Anniversary, Spencer! It’s been a fabulous 3 years,and I look forward to many, many more.

*Let’s pretend all this happened around or about December 27^th.Because that was actually our anniversary.

Open to Interpretation: Gingham

2012-01-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

If it weren't for Open to Interpretation, I would never get dressed. Because as we all know, if you didn't take an outfit photo, then you weren't wearing any clothes. And as discussed before, I haven't done an outfit post in a while.

Thankfully, Amy got me in-line by choosing this week's interpretation:

Source: See Jane

This was one of those rare times when I thought, wow, I can copy that almost exactly! Generally, I just roughly base my outfit on the inspiration, but this time I went for all out copy-cat.

This is how I did it:

Cardigan/(Spencer's) Shirt/Wedges: Gifted, Pants: TJ Maxx, Belt: Thrifted

I had to add this picture to prove, contrary to the first one, that I do know how to make normal faces.

Ok, I didn't completely copycat because I do have a grey sweater I could have worn instead of my cardigan, but I just had to wear my new Christmas cardigan!

But either way, it was nice to wear clothes again. It was getting a bit too cold to be nekkid all the time. ;)

Now check out Kayla and Amy!

Pumpkin recipe: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

While I usually enjoy everything I make (hey, it's food. what's not to like?), I especially loved these pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I was like a proud mama when I shared them with friends. Maybe because I made them completely from scratch? Yeah...I upped the difficulty level on a recipe as opposed to dumbing it down. What is wrong with me? But really, the dough didn't take that long to make, and the results were so, so worth it.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from Picky Palate

Dough recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Dough:

2 ½ c. all purpose flour

2 T sugar

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ¼ c. buttermilk

4 T butter, melted

Filling:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. brown sugar

¼ c. canned pumpkin

¼ tsp ground cinnmon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

Icing:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

½ c powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1 T pumpkin

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.Whisk the buttermilk and 2 T melted butter together. Stir the buttermilkmixture into the flour mixture until absorbed, about 30 seconds. Turn the doughout onto a lightly floured counter and knead until smooth. Press the dough outinto a 9x12 rectangle using your hands. Spread the filling onto the dough,leaving a ½ inch border. Loosen the dough from the counter using a benchscraper or metal spatula and roll the dough to form a tight log. Pinch the seamto seal. Slice into 8 pieces and place in a greased 9-inch round cake pan.Brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes at425. Flip the buns out onto a greasedwire rack over parchment paper, turn upright and then cool for 5 minutes beforeglazing.

Yes, I still exist and I've made goals

2012-01-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

Oh, hello!

Contrary to popular belief, I did not disappearthe blogging world; I’ve just been a tad bit preoccupied these past two weeks.What have I been up to, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you!

Since December 22^nd,I have been in Texas, Massachusetts,Maine, and New York.

I have attend the funeral of abeloved uncle, played innumerable games with my siblings, spent time with 26different family members, went north of Boston for the first time ever, celebratedmy 3^rd anniversary, saw a dear friend from Alabama, and rang in theNew Year puking my guts out.

Texas was bittersweet (my uncle’s death was unexpected, buthe was an incredible man who lived a very full life and is now watching overand waiting for his family from the other side); Christmas was insanely fun (myentire family together in 1 house is loud and crazy – just like I like it); andNew Year’s quiet (as soon as it was 12:01, I went to bed).

Unfortunately, I didn’ttake a single photo.

Whoops.

I also spent at least 7 full days without getting on a computeronce, and 4 of those days were consecutive. It felt so good to be unplugged! And for some bizarre reason, bloggingjust wasn’t on the agenda. However, now that life has settled down, I’m readyto get back in the swing of things, and to do that, I want to start 2012 offright – with my new year’s resolutions. I’ve put more thought into these than Inormally do, and I’m determined to see them through.

Run a half-marathon:I want to be better about my exercise schedule, and what better to motivate mycompetitive soul than a race? I’ve never even done a 5k (not competitively atleast), so a half-marathon is definitely stretching myself.

Go at least 3 monthswithout drinking any soda: I’ve gotten into the bad habit of drinking adaily soda (curse you fridge at work!), but I want to break that. Januarythrough March will be absolutely soda-free. I’m realistic enough to realize Imight want to drink soda sometime in the future, so I’m just making my goal 3months, hoping that will break my daily habit.

Go 1 month withoutany refined or artificial sugars: During the month of March, the onlysweeteners I will allow myself will be agave, honey, and pure maple syrup. For a crazy sugar-addict like me, thisone will be particularly hard.

Eat raw again:Starting April 1^st, I will eat raw again for 21 days. I loved how it made me feel and how those unnecessary pounds dropped off my body. I tried to doit in November, but in the cold weather, I need cooked foods! But come spring, raw foods it is.

Read my scripturesevery day: I’ve been more consistent this past year than I ever was, but Istill struggle to read my scriptures every.single.day. I notice such a difference in my day when I start it off by reading my scriptures, so I promise to read atleast 4 verses every day but will shoot for a chapter.

Be happier:Generally of a sunny disposition, I’ve been oddly cranksty lately. I’ve startedto dwell on the bad and forget to be grateful for the good. I plan on reversingthis trend and going back to an optimistic lifestyle. Frankly, this resolutionand the one above are the most important, and I’m announcing it to the worldbecause telling others adds a level of accountability to your resolutions. Right?

Sorry for this ridiculously long post to start 2012; Ipromise tomorrow will be shorter. But if you actually made it to the end ofthis post, tell me, what are your resolutions?

What do you think of New Year’sresolutions? Something to be forgotten or something you actually finish?

Little Facts: Christmas Edition

2011-12-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

My parents' tree

This year, Spencer and I are going to my parents’ house forChristmas, and I’m so excited!
Here’s a traditional Christmas at the Martinhousehold:

Christmas Eve dinner is a big, quasi-Thanksgiving affair. Webust out the china, sit in the dining room, and drink our fancy holiday drink –ginger ale poured over cran-grape ice cubes. We even wear fancy clothes, likekhakis. After dinner, my dad reads the birth story out of Luke 2 while the restof us reenact the various parts wearing a variety of towels, robes and aluminumfoil crowns. Somehow the donkey always manages to steal the show. Then, to end the festivities, we open up our sibling gifts.

Then wego to bed so Santa Claus can come!

My parents keep all of our handmade ornaments, including this one of 5-year-old Erica.

Christmas Day starts bright and early, because my littlesister whole-heartedly believes that if you don’t see the presents by 6 am,they disappear forever. So all 7 of us (except now we’ve grown to 11 withhusbands and baby) line up and parade into the living room at the same time.First we dive into the stockings, full of chocolate to be immediately consumed,and then the presents! Oh the presents! One by one, starting from my dad, ondown the age line, we open our gifts to “oohs” and “awws” and lots and lots ofsqueals. Once the presents are open, then the real fun begins! Toys areassembled, games played, and movies watched, all in our pajamas as we munch oncinnamon rolls, stocking candy and leftover pie. Eventually...eventually...weshower and dress, usually to go caroling that night around the neighborhood orto enjoy Christmas desserts with friends. We end the day with a showing of It’sa Wonderful Life, and then we all go to bed, hearts full and bellies evenfuller.

I absolutely love our Christmas traditions and unbiasedlythink it’s the best thing ever. How do you spend your Christmas?

Open to Inspiration: Neutrals

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

For the first time ever, I looked at this week's inspiration and was totally stumped. Here's why:

Shot by Phil Poynter for Vogue Germany

It's gorgeous, but I have nothing like that. I had actually repinned this way back in the day when Kayla originally pinned it, but that doesn't mean I thought I could recreate it. It just means I thought, "Oo - pretty!"

After much pondering of the photo and much scratching of the noggin, I thought, "hey, there's a lot of neutrals in this here outfit. let's go with that."

Skirt/button-up: thrifted, Sweater: Banana Republic, Belt: Target, Shoes: Steve Madden

So I wore a lot of browns and felt blerg about the outfit. I did love wearing that sweater, however, because Spencer hates it. haha! It sheds on EVERYTHING, which drives Spencer crazy, which makes me, the evil wife, laugh maniacally.
Ahh, the little things that make life good. :)

Check out Kayla's and Amy's interpretations, which were probably much more husband-friendly:

Random thoughts for your weekend

2011-12-16T09:58:00.001-05:00

Yesterday’s poem did not go down like I meant it to.

It wassupposed to be funny; I mean, I ate his entire cake! By myself!

But instead, the poem only made Spencer sad.

Fail.

And fyi, I’m not above lying on my blog. I didn’t even make a German chocolate cake, let alone eat it all. And Spencer came home at 7:30, so we could eat dinner together. So please, don't be sad!

If only I had a dime everytime a joke of mine fell flat…

You've probably already seen this, but “Stuff” Girls Say is hilarous. And so very, very, very true. Except Spencer is always the oneto ask, “did I lock the door?” and I have to tell him yes.

Guess he’s a girl, too.

I’d love to mess with someone like this, butI’m not that gutsy. I can't believe he kept the joke going that long! Do you think he was mean or hilarious? (I’m tending towardshilarious myself.)

Wednesday I watched the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

I knew Ishouldn’t watch it because it objectifies women and promotes an unhealthy bodyimage, but it SPARKLED.

Did you see it? I just couldn’t turn away! And how do they not fall over from those wings?

Lastly, I’ve recently started on watching Christmas movies. So far,I’ve watched Elf and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Next up will be It’s aWonderful Life, Scrooge (with Albert Finney, of course), and A Christmas Story.

What are your favorite Christmas movies?

Any random thoughts on your mind? Feel free to share and enjoy your weekend!

An ode to the birthday boy

2011-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today, twenty-seven years is your age

And although narcissistic parties are the rage

You study in the library all this day

Third year of law school, to it you’ve made

Yet your passion for excellence does not fade

So you study in the library all this day

Honors you received for your 2^nd year

So you strive to graduate in the top 10 percent tier

And you study in the library all this day

No birthday celebration, you commanded me

But if I listened, what kind of wife would I be?

Still, you study in the library all this day

Taco salad and German chocolate cake

Your favorite birthday meal did I make

While you study in the library all this day

A small portion, Imeant to eat

But self-control around food is a difficult feat

As you study in the library all this day

I ate it all, down to the very last slice

And this had already happened twice!

Because you study in the library all this day

Happy Birthday my love, I would have said

But when you get home, I’ll be in bed

Since you study in the library all this day

Spencer's presents, 5 pairs of shoes purchased by him and expertly wrapped by me.

For some random tidbits about the Birthday Boy, check out last year's post.

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

2011-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

I had some leftover cranberries from my garland and half alemon leftover from these cookies, so I was looking everywhere for alemon-cranberry recipe. And did you know that everything is eitherlemon-blueberry or orange-cranberry, but no lemon-cranberry? What the heck? SoI made my own lemon-cranberry muffin recipe, based off of my favorite basicmuffin recipe (also used for these muffins).

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

(adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups plain lowfat yogurt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice from half a lemon

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 ½ cups roughly chopped cranberries

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together theyogurt, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a different bowl. Gently fold inthe yogurt mixture into the dry mixture with a rubber spatula until justcombined. Fold in the melted butter and then the cranberries. Evenly divide thebatter among 12 greased muffins cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then flip out onto a wirerack and cool for another 10 minutes before eating.

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As styled by Kris Kross

2011-12-12T10:37:00.000-05:00

Cardigan/tee: H&M, dress worn as skirt: giveaway win, Tights/necklace: gift, Shoes: Payless

This is what I wore my company’s holiday party, plus red lipstick that I added after work because really, what's a party without red lipstick?

One of my coworkers wasconcerned that her outfit might be a bit strange (for we always get gussied upfor the party), and I just looked at her and said,

“Dude, I’m wearing acardigan…backwards.”

Considering that I’ve worn cardigans loose, buttoned, belted, doubled, and tucked, backwards was inevitable. And I enjoyed it so much that I did it again for another holiday party a couple of days later, complete with red lipstick.

What do you think? Is wearing a cardigan backwards a fashion statement or fashion faux pas?

**Please tell me you get the title. If not, you are dead to me. Or just ask and I will explain it.

Open to Interpretation: Red and Link-up

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our first link-up round of Open to Interpretation!

Again, here's the inspiration:

Source unknown.

I love everything about this outfit: the red, the stripes, the cream sweater. And it's absolutely perfect for the Christmas season, no?

So here's my interpretation:

Vest: thrifted cardigan snipped by me, Shirt: gift, Skirt: DownEast, Belt: thrifted, Boots: Anouk via Gilt, Beanie: Spain

You are probably wondering if I am physically unable to look at the camera.
It's difficult, but I can manage it.
See?

Quick! Now look away again!

Don't forget about Kayla's and Amy's interpretations!
(They are gorgeous outfits; I got a sneak peek! :) )

And now for the most exciting part of all!
Linking up your interpretations!

Click below to enter:

Open to Interpretation: Reminder

2011-12-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all!

Don't forget that tomorrow is the link-up for Open to Interpretation!

You can find the inspiration here.
(Updated: the button grab box is now working if you want one.)

And just so you know, you don't have to link up to a blog - it can be a photosharing site as well (flickr, photobucket, etc.).

Also, we are interpretating the outfit, not copying. So if you don't have red pants, no worries! (Neither do I!)

Click here to see previous OTIs.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

tiny tannenbaum

2011-12-05T21:02:00.001-05:00

For our first Christmas married (also our first Christmas in New York), Spencer and I didn't have any Christmas decorations, and it was terrible. I never really felt the Christmas season deep in my heart. And I loooooove feeling the Christmas season deep in my heart.

So last year, I defied my Grinchy husband (we don't need a tree...we don't spend Christmas here...blah blah blah) and non-existent budget and bought a tree and lights! A whole 2-feet of glorious treeness! And my goodness, what a difference that tree made! Christmas felt like Christmas! exclamation points galore!!!!!

This past weekend I pulled it all out again, and oh, it's so beautiful! Cranberry and popcorn garlands glam it up (which were made with the "one on the thread, one in my mouth" method whilst watching Ever After). White tissue paper adorned with glitter (or sprinkles as Spencer kept calling it) makes a fantasticly cheap tree skirt, and a shimmery Star o' David tops my tiny tannenbaum because honestly, two triangles are a lot easier to cut out than a five-point star. I love my tree! I love it, I love it, and I don't care who knows it!

What was Spencer doing all this time, you ask? Same thing as last year: studying for finals.

Tell me about your tree: fake or live? Mishmash or deliberate decorations?

the elusive post

2011-12-05T12:56:00.001-05:00

Sweater/tights: H&M, Skirt/belt: thrifted, Scarf: swapped, Shoes: Urban Outfitters, Necklace: Target

For 3 days now, I've been attempting to write a post...but I got nothing. I've began multiple stories, and I can't finish a single one! Surprisingly, things have even happenedin my life! Normally, I don't write stories because there are no stories to tell, but now, I have stories and I can't tell them.

Heck, just writing this post about how I can't write a post has been like pulling teeth.

Instead of a fabulously witty story, I will leave you with my outfit photos and a plea to share any tips you have about overcoming writer's block. This is most definitely a Monday post.

Open to Interpretation: Inspiration

2011-12-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Remember that next week's Open to Interpretation will be a link up?

Well, here's the inspiration* that we will all be interpreting:

And here's the 411 on linking up:

Our posts will go live at 9 AM EST on Thursday, December 8th, and you will have all day to link up.

Link your interpretation on any one of our three blogs (Amy, Kayla, or me), and it will automatically show up on all three (the link can be a blog or a photo sharing website. whichever you prefer).

No rules, but if you don't mind, please link to one of us so that your readers can see all the other interpretations. Because, really, the best part is seeing what everyone else does.

And if you so desire, grab a button:

Hope to see your interpretation next week!

*I couldn't find the source anywhere! If you know what this is from, please let me know!

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Hunger Gaming

2011-11-30T10:08:00.001-05:00

source

Yesterday, Spencer said to me, "You haven't done a real post in a while."

"Look, Ricks," I replied (I call him Ricks when I'm feeling particularly sarcastic. So basically, all the time). "I don't have TIME to do a stinkin' outfit post. I'm too busy listening to The Hunger Games trilogy. So lay off me, I'm starving!"

(small aside: when did outfit posts equate real posts? hmph!)

Ok, what I actually said was, "Wha-what?" as I pulled an earbud out of my ear because I was listening to Mockingjay at the time.

And it's true.

Over the past week, most of my free time has been spent listening to The Hunger Games. I listen while cooking, cleaning, walking to work, or best of all, while playing old-school computer games.

Currently, I'm re-obsessed with minesweeper and spider solitaire.

I've even been volunteering to do more chores, just so I can keep listening.

Thought I suddenly cared about your study time, Spencer? Heck no!

So in case you are concerned like my dear husband, I want to allay your fears: yes, I do still get dressed. I even took outfit photos today!

But until I get back to "real posts," feel free to leave all sorts of fangirly comments, so we can talk about how much we love The Hunger Games.

To be honest, I was torn between Peeta and Gale almost the entire series, slightly favoring Gale until he wanted to bomb everyone and their mom.

And I kinda hated Katniss in the 3rd book. For the same reason I hated Harry in the 5th and Bella in all 4: complain, mope, complain, mope!

More Hunger Games stuff:

Janssen's review of Mockingjay scarily mirrored my thoughts on the book but is written way better than I could ever dream of.

I love how no map of Panem is the same.
UPDATED: Ellie pointed me to the most bomb-diggity map of Panem of all time. The work that went into it will blow.your.mind. Thanks, Ellie!

And please watch this for the millionth time. I know I am:

Home-cookin'

2011-11-28T15:59:00.001-05:00

I love to cook, but I can easily get out of the groove of doing it.

This happened a month or so ago, and once I stopped working late and stopped getting free dinners, I struggled to cook again. And by cook I mean, something besides heating up jarred spaghetti sauce and frozen chicken patties (both of which I totally love btw).

Instead of reaching for my trusty cookbooks**, I decided to actually make some of my food pins. (Raise of hands: who has made anything from their recipe board on Pinterest? Be honest!)

OMG! Why hadn't I done this sooner?!?! And because I'm super nice, as a gift to you, here's my list of "You-have-to-make-this-right-now!" recipes:

Chik-fil-a chicken nuggets. Not exactly the same but they are pretty darn close! I think it's the powdered sugar in the breading. Spencer and I LOVED these.

Which must be eaten with honey mustard. And this is probably the best honey mustard I've had. I was eating frozen chicken patties for days, so I could eat the leftover sauce.

These lemon crinkle cookies are definitely my new favorite cookies, which is saying something because cookies are the love of my life (sorry Spencer!). The only sad part was that I made them to share at a group dinner. Next time, no sharing! They will be mine! All mine! My...precious...

And umm...why hadn't anyone told me about roasted fall vegetables before? I made/ate this for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't been able to stop since. I do any combo of potatoes, onions, squash, carrots, garlic, whatever. Anything to get that roasted goodness into my belly.

Finally, this pizza sauce. How do I begin to describe the wonder that is this pizza sauce? Let's just say, I may or may not have eaten multiple spoonfulls out of the pan. And you need that specific brand of tomatoes! I've tried it with another brand, and it was not as good.

So get to pinning and then to cooking!

**America's Test Kitchen, America's Test Kitchen Healthy, America's Test Kitchen Slowcooker and Quick and Easy Indian. One of these is not like the others. Also, feel free to give me America's Test Kitchen Baking to round out my collection. ;)

Thankful for: My family

2011-11-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

Other than my religion, what I'm most thankful for is my family.

Or should I say, families.

At my younger sister's wedding last December. Photo by Still Timeless Photography.

First, I have my nuclear family, my parents and siblings. As you can tell in the above photo, there are a lot of us! With three of us married, the tally is 2 parents, 6 daughers, 1 son, 3 sons-in-law, and 1 grandson: 14 people!

And I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my big family!

Home is always full of games, laughter, music; basically, a lot of noise.

There is always someone to talk to, to play with, and I revel in that.

My sisters and I have innumerable inside jokes, and we always have so much fun when we are together!

My brother is the sweetest 13-year-old I have ever met. So thoughtful and patient. And honestly, I have no idea how he deals with all those sisters.

Then how do I even begin regarding my parents? They have given me everything in the world, loved me unconditionally, and taught me so much.

They are the best parents.

I'm not the best about keeping in touch, but I hope my family knows how much I love them.

And I'm so excited for us to be all together at Christmas!

The Ricks family at our ring ceremony.

Then, I have my in-laws. Spencer also comes from a big family, and they are wonderful people, so fun to be with.

They have always welcomed me and helped me to feel like part of the family.

Sadly, Spencer's siblings are spread out across the country, so we don't get to see them that often, BUT his parents are a mere 30 minutes away.

I love my parents-in-law.

Life in the city would be so different if we didn't have them nearby, always willing to have us over.

Every summer we waterski on their boat, every fall we go apple-picking, every winter we cut down and trim the Christmas tree.

More than just the fun we have together, Spencer's parents treat me like one of their own daughters.

I couldn't have imagined better in-laws.

Photo by Two if by Sea Photography

Finally, and most importantly, I have Spencer, my husband. As we drove from our wedding to our reception, Spencer and I had an epiphany that now WE were each other's family.

That was a strange moment, realizing I went from a family of a million (the noise level makes it seem like that) to a family of two.

But Spencer is my family.

And my best friend.

And so much more.

To truly describe how much I love him and why I'm grateful for him would take hours, days, weeks.

Instead, I'll tell you a story.

A friend once asked why I married Spencer. How I knew that he was the one.

Well, I said. You know how you have a list, mental or written, of the things you want in a husband? You have the things you absolutely need, the things you'd like, and then the things that would be nice but aren't necessary at all?

Spencer has all of it. Every single thing that was on my list.

Down to the very, very unnecessary but oh-so-hot trait of being a drummer.

I'm so grateful for my loving husband.

This might be cliche, but life would be incomplete without him. I mean, who else would deal with me when I'm tungry?

I have so much to be thankful for, and I'm glad that we have this reminder to take some time and express our gratitude for all our blessings.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thankful for: New York City

2011-11-25T10:30:00.000-05:00

Photo by Two If By Sea Photography

Growing up, I always wanted to live in the heart of a big city.

I didn't know which city.
But it had to be big, and I had to be in the middle of it.

So why not the biggest city in the country?

Right around the time of our wedding and graduation, Spencer was deciding which law school to go to, and his options came down to NYU and University of Chicago. However, it didn't really matter what he wanted.

I had already decided that I wanted to live in New York.

And that was that.

(Ok, not really. But we can pretend that Spencer bases all his decisions on my whims and wishes.)

So we moved to New York.

Right away, I knew that this was where I was meant to be.

New York is MY city.

Yes, it is HARD to live here. Our ghetto studio costs more than parents' mortgage; laundry requires lugging it all around in that hated granny cart; and grocery shopping? Oy vey.

So why do we sacrifice so much (mostly money) to live here?

Because I LOVE it.

I can't really explain why.

I try to tell Spencer (who, sadly, doesn't love it as much as I), but there are no words to describe my emotions.

I just love New York City.

Of course, I can and will pull out my laundry list of reasons to love New York, such as:
the energy, the fantastic people (our friends are phenomenal), close to both of our families, the walkability of the city (i don't miss having a car one bit), the many neighborhoods I love to explore, the food, all the things to do, and so on.

But in the end, I love New York for all it's taught me. For the frustration, for the joy. For those moments when I turned to Spencer and say, "Wow. We live here."

I'm thankful for New York.

*Sorry these last two "Thankful for" posts will be a bit late. I was celebrating Thanksgiving with my family instead of blogging, so am I forgiven?*

Open to Interpretation: Comfortable

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

I am very excited for this round of Open to Interpretation! The outfit is fantastic AND we have some exciting news!

But first, the inspiration.

I loved Amy's choice for this week's OTI because slouchy tops with fitted pants make my favorite outfits.

Here's the inspiration:

Original source. Her whole blog is beautiful; I definitely recommend checking it out.

And here's my interpretation:

Cardi: thrifted, Sweater: Bloomingdale's, Pants: TJ Maxx, Flats: ???

I loved this outfit. It was SOOOO comfy!

Now for our exciting news:

the next round of OTI will be open to everyone!

We will be doing an Open to Interpretation link party on December 8th!

We will announce the inspiration (my pick! eep!) next week on December 1st, and then you will have one week to create your own interpretation.

Then, our own posts will go up on December 8th at 9 am EST, and you can link up your outfit post on any one of ours. (If you link up on one, it will show up on all 3. Cool, huh!)

Are you excited?! I'm about-to-pee-in-my-pants pumped!

Now go see Amy's and Kayla's interpretations:

Thankful for: My Job

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

Accounting was not what I planned to do.

I studied Sociologyin school and wanted to go to grad school or work in non-profit. Shockingly,neither of those pay enough for two people to live in Manhattan. Huh.

Therefore, when Spencer and Imoved here, I decided to look for a job that would pay enough: anadministrative assistant. *Shudders* My snobby self loathed being a meresecretary, BUT I got paid well, had fantastic insurance, and learned a ton of accounting because as you see, I was the administrative assistant for an accounting department.

Thus began my journey in accounting.

They’ve trained me, sent me to class, and ta-da! Made me anaccountant! As of January 1, 2011, I became a Staff Accountant! While yes,accounting is kinda boring, and no one, and I mean NO ONE, ever has anyfollow-up interest when I tell them what I do, I like my job.

It pays thebills and keeps me busy.

So yeah, I’m grateful for my job.

Photos in the Park

2011-11-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

Remember this post? Well, after we took the photos for my dad's birthday, Kaitlyn graciously agreed to take some photos of Spencer and me in Central Park just for kicks.

Here are some of my favorites:

Go here to see the rest of the photos and check out Kaitlyn's personal blog Vespa Tales!

Thankful for: Laughter

2011-11-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

I love Thanksgiving!

It is one of my favorite holidays, and I think it’s a shamethat Thanksgiving gets overshadowed by the ever-sooner arrival of Christmasdecorations, music, etc.

We need to take time to express gratitude for all wehave.

So leading up to Thanksgiving Day, I will post about the things I’mgrateful for, and I’d love for you to leave comments about what you aregrateful for!

Today, I’m grateful for laughter.

I love to laugh! One ofthe first things that attracted me to Spencer was that he laughed all the timeand made me laugh all the time! And still, whenever I’m in a bad mood, he alwaysknows how to make me laugh, thereby chasing away the grumpies.

Here are a few of things that have made us laugh lately:

Arrested Development + Apple = Steve Gobs

Apparently, I'm not the only one with the tungries (tired + hungry = angry Erica).

This show is the.best.

Man sweater: two ways

2011-11-17T09:40:00.001-05:00

When H&M was having their "Buy 1 knit, get 1 free" sale, I got this green sweater for me and a grey sweater for Spencer.

And when I say "I got it for Spencer," what I mean to say is, I bought a men's sweater, told Spencer it was for him, but planned to keep it for myself all along.

Elbow Patches!

To fem up the menswear a bit, I usually reach for some combination of heels, top knot and jewelry.

Exhibit 1:

Sweater/Booties: H&M, Jeans: 7 for All Mankind, Necklace: Target, Scarf: ?

Exhibit 2:

Pants: TJ Maxx, Sweater: H&M, Shoes: hand-me-down, Scarf: headband DIY

Do you wear menswear? If so, how do you fem it up?

And because we all need a bit more Arrested Development in our lives, I give you the chicken dance:

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Weekend Upstate

2011-11-15T22:43:00.001-05:00

Way back in February, I bought a Living Social deal for 2 nights at the Mariaville Lake Bed and Breakfast, and as I mentioned yesterday, Spencer and I finally used this deal last weekend and went on a little trip to Upstate New York.

On the way to the B&B, we stopped to check out Albany for a couple of hours because hey, it's our state's capital.
To sum most people's view of Albany, I told a friend that we were going to Albany, and she asked, "Why?" And she has spent a lot of time there.

Yeah, I wouldn't venture out of the government area, but that part was fairly nice.

Let's be honest, I really only liked it because of that structure on the right called "The Egg."

How about a close-up of said Egg:

Throw in a couple of universities and broken-down brownstones and you got Albany.

Now onto Mariaville!

This was our first time at a bed and breakfast, and while we enjoyed the place immensely, I don't think we will be going to one again. (We prefer the anonymity of hotels.)

But this place was lovely, especially the breakfast. Yumm...

Our room and its view:

Remember wanting anonymity?

When we asked the owner to light the fire for us, he smirked, "Oh! You like that fire, huh?" and winked at me.

I have absolutely no idea at what he was hinting. I like fires because I get cold!

Amidst the sleeping, eating and lazing about that went on, we went hiking and saw a couple of waterfalls and even a bridge! (which sadly had no trolls. *frowny face* what bridge has no trolls?)

Please note my hiking attire: jeans, tennis shoes, t-shirt and hair in a ponytail. I've seen pictures of some fashion bloggers who went hiking in dresses, boots, tights, and makeup. I'm not one of those.

Also, we went to Schenectady and only photographed one thing: this tree.

As you can see, this was not a crazy, jam-packed weekend.
It was calm and relaxing, a perfect break from work, school, and crazy neighbors.

Wait, is that pounding bass I hear?
Can we go up next weekend as well?

One tall order

2011-11-15T09:13:00.001-05:00

Sweater: Old Navy, Shirts: H&M, Belt: Joe's NY, Jeans: 7 for All Mankind, Converses: freshman roommate

This past weekend, Spencer and I traveled upstate for a bitof R&R (more about our travels tomorrow). As I was packing for our trip, Ihad an epiphany: I don’t know how to style jeans.

My office doesn’t allowjeans, and therefore, about 90% of my outfits do not include jeans. So I’veforgotten how to wear them!

With this outfit, I was trying to go for warmenough to not need a coat, casual enough to walk around in, and yet good enoughto ~~make it onto the blog~~ be semi-interesting.

That is quite the order!

Did Iget it right? How do you do travel chic?

Pumpkin recipe: Sopapilla Pumpkin Cheesecake

2011-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this pin and of course, repinned it instantly. But then I thought, why not add pumpkin to that sucker? Crescent rolls, cream cheese and pumpkin all in one receipe?!?! Yes please!

Sopapilla Pumpkin Cheesecake
Adapted from My Yellow Umbrella

1 can of crescent rolls
1 block of Neutfchatel cheese, softened
Pumpkin butter to taste
1 T melted butter
Cinnamon and sugar

Spread half of the dough in an un-greased 8x8 pan. Mix the pumpkin butter and cheese together. (I used about 8 oz of Trader Joe's pumpkin butter.) Top with the remaining dough. Brush the melted butter on top of the dough, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to taste. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350. Then enjoy by a crackling fire while watching Sleepless in Seattle.

Note: when I make this again, I will bake the bottom dough for a few minutes first. It was a bit soggy, but still super delicious.

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Open to Interpretation: Mustard

2011-11-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

If you remember from last week's post, today is a very special Open to Interpretation: Sarah from Frills for Thrills joined us as a guest interpreter!

source

A pastor's wife living in Portland, Oregon, Sarah says her blog "is an outlet for me to share my passion for fashion and interior decorating, crafting and thrifting..." One of my favorite outfits of hers is the above photo, a look inspired by Kim Kardashian.

As the guest, Sarah chose the inspiration for this round, and this what she chose:

source

And this is my interpretation:

Button-up: thrifted, Skirt/Booties: H&M, Scarf/tights/sunglasses: gifted

Yes, those people in the background are watching the NYC marathon. And no, my hands are not glued to the inside my pockets, although it appears that they are.

I was excited for this OTI because it gave me an excuse to wear my booties (again) and to wear that XXL mustard shirt that Spencer hates oh-so-much ("It's too big!" he says).

Now go click over to Kayla, Amy, AND Sarah to see their interpretations!

Little Facts

2011-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Sweater: H&M, Leggings: Classic Shapewear via slickdeals.net, Vest: thrifted cardigan snipped, Scarf/belt: swapped, Boots: Anouk via Gilt

Quirk: Years. Whenever I see the year someone was born/died/whatever, I HAVE to mentally calculate their age when they died, their age right now, their age at any significant event. It's complusive. I MUST know their age when that random thing occurred!

Laugh: Loud. Embarrasingly so. As in people tell me that they can hear my laugh from the other side of the room. Whoops.

Leggings: Amazing. This is my first pair. And these fleece-lined babies are so thick that they are just skinny sweatpants that happen to be business casual when tucked into boots. Better yet, Spencer bought them for me (with my money). If you know Spencer, then you know he strongly dislikes buying things.

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One look

2011-11-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

I've received a couple of comments about my "sassy face," "blue steel," or "soul-less look." In fact, this pose pre-dates my fashion blogging days and was (is) quite prevalent in photos of me.

I submit the following evidence:

As Baby Spice with a pirate and Posh

bowling

While going disco skating

At football games

with a really pale face

with pigtails

as a Powerpuff Girl

while going sledding

sledding again

at a campfire with friends

sometimes my friends join me

And sometimes it's a family affair

And this are just some of the pictures...from 1 year of college. There are many, many more

Layers and meet-ups

2011-11-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

Outer cardi: sweater snipped by me, Inner Cardi/loafers: hand-me-down, Button-up: thrifted

Because I like to delay the onset of coat-wearing as much aspossible, I tend to wear lots of layers in the fall.

Lots and lots of layers.

These copious layers accompanied me to my first bloggermeet-up this weekend. Natalie of The SoHo and Amy of Old Sweet Song hosted ameet-up for NYC bloggers, and it was a lot of fun! I had realized a while agothat most blogs I read are not NYC-based, and I wanted to start reading morelocal blogs. So when I saw Natalie announce the meet-up, I jumped at the chanceto go. I didn’t know most of the blogs beforehand, but the ladies were verysweet, and I’m excited to have some great, local blogs in my reader now.

Have you ever been to a blogger meet-up? Who did you meet? Would you do it again?

Friday Favorites

2011-11-04T10:50:00.002-04:00

Cape: vintage, Dress/Cardigan: hand-me-down: Satchel: gift, Boots: Anouk via Gilt

Can't stop laughing at Jimmy Fallon as Justin Bieber singing "(It's Not My) Baby". Beware! This song will get stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Spencer has felt left-out many a night because, yes, my blog is my boyfriend.

Here's a creative way of recycling designer handbags.

If being rich means you spend crazy dough on crazy ugly sweaters, then sign me up! Ugly Sweaters for 1%

You've probably seen these before, but I'm so excited for Spring 2012 (and my first purchase of TOMS).

The nerd in me loves these Stormtrooper family photos.

See that cape? It's a "favorite" only because is it an awesome vintage cape, but a family heirloom as well. I love it almost as much as Spencer.

**Sigh, I'm gonna have to start taking outfit photos before work. Stupid fall equinox!

Pumpkin recipe: Pumpkin squares

2011-11-03T10:11:00.000-04:00

This is my very favorite pumpkin recipe!

It was actually the recipe that taught me to like pumpkin (before this, all I had had was pumpkin pie, which is the bologna of pumpkin recipes). And like all of my other recipes, this is quite easy, which always makes a recipe taste infinitely better.

via

Pumpkin Squares

Crust:

1 pkg yellow cake mix (save 1 cup for topping)

1/2 cup butter softened

1 egg

Filling:

2 cups pumpkin

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1 cup cake mix

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter (not melted!)

Mix crust and press into bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Mix filling and pour over crust. Mix topping and crumble on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let cool for a bit and serve with whip cream.

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Little Facts

2011-11-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

Sweater: hand-me-down, Button-up: AE, Jeans: Levis, Boots: Anouk via Gilt

Pet Peeves: Multiple. When people make noises when they eat. Slurping, smacking, chewing, whatever. It's all annoying (and can be fixed if you close your mouth when you eat!!). And when they make noises when they breathe. And when they chew gum. And when they blow their nose. And when they hawk loogies. And when they cough funny.
Just don't make any noise around me.

Memory: Selective. I can't remember what I ate this morning, what I wore yesterday or who I met just 5 seconds ago. BUT! I can remember all the names of Henry VIII's wives and how their relationship with him ended, that obscure quote from that movie I saw once 3 years ago, and many other random facts that cause Spencer to say "how do you remember that?" on a fairly regular basis.
Basically, I remember all things nerdy and nothing regarding actual life. Typical.

Costume: Nonexistent. Despite my love of couple costumes, for the second year in a row, Spencer and I have not had a costume!!! I did, however, dress in all black in celebration...which just made me look like every other New Yorker. Halloween fail.

Go here to check out Rebecca's Little Facts (the genius behind this series) and read facts that are indeed little and not essays.

Book Review: The Kane Chronicles

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have a new favorite author: Rick Riordan.

Ok, he's not actually my favorite. NO one, and I mean no one, can replace David Eddings.

But Rick is worming his way up with two of his fantastic YA fiction series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Kane Chronicles.

via

I know, I know: you've all read Percy Jackson. Well, I just read it for the first time, and I gotta say, the movie did NOT do it justice. Heck, the movie was why I had no desire to read the books. But a while back, a co-worker of mine recommended The Kane Chronicles, and oh.my.goodness.

If you think Percy Jackson is good, you will LOVE The Kane Chronicles.

In a similar vein to Percy Jackson, The Kane Chronicles are a trilogy set in modern times, and the protagonists, a brother and sister, get caught up in ancient mythology that actually exists, this time Ancient Egypt. Carter and Sadie Kane are children of famous Egyptologists, but they have been raised separately for the past 6 years, ever since their mom died, Carter traveling the world with his dad and Sadie in London with their maternal grandparents.

In the first book, The Red Pyramid, after their dad destroys the Rosetta Stone and frees Egyptian gods that had been bound for thousands of years, Carter and Sadie learn that they are descendent of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and because of their descent, they are also powerful magicians.

Oh yeah, and they have about 5 days to save the world.

The books are transcripts of recordings that Carter and Sadie sent out to spread the truth and gather other magicians. The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire, the second book, are full of Egyptian gods, magic, sibling rivalry, and apocalyptic destruction. (The third is set to come out May 2012.)

But my favorite part of the books is the sibling interactions. As any teenaged siblings, Carter and Sadie fight and mock each other incessantly but also support one another during the hard times. If you are a sibling, you will enjoy how Rick Riordan perfectly captures the sibling interactions.

Because of the two narrators and the two accents (because they were raised separately), I recommend listening to these books (after reading them first, of course), and the narrators do a great job, except for their Southern accents. So painful!

The best part about reading these books? When Spencer and I went to the Met shortly after I finished these books, I was able to spout off tons of facts and say my favorite phrase many, many times: "Did you know that...? Did you know that...? Did you know that...?"

Snow, cars and junk food

2011-10-31T12:20:00.003-04:00

Skirt/blouse: thrifted, Tights: Hue via Buffalo Exchange, Booties: H&M

This was quite the weekend.

Snow in October, flat tire in Connecticut and surprise birthday party for my Dad (he's 50!)

I may or may not have cursed Spencer many times for the weather, blessed the middle-of-nowhere Wal-mart for its quick tire replacement, and eaten way too many treats to celebrate my dad's aging.

And that was just Saturday.

The drive back on Sunday was free of falling snow, flat tires, and traffic.

To top it off, when we arrived in Westchester to return my in-laws' car, a pleasant fire was crackling in their fireplace.

Which made going down to my cold apartment in the city seem very, very unappealing.

But we did,

and it was still a fantastic weekend anyway.

Not-so-fun-fact: In the past 143 years, it has snowed in New York during the month of October a total of 18 times. This weekend made 19.

Side note: with those tights, I thought I could be Smurfette for Halloween. (After these costumes, I haven't been able to think of anything good.) Thoughts?

Happy 50th Dad!

2011-10-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

The "E" photo was taken by the talented Kaitlyn Ray of Vespa Tales and Two if by Sea Photography

Pumpkin recipe: pumpkin spice hot chocolate

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

I mentioned this post that I wanted to try this pumpkin spice hot chocolate. So I did. Well, sorta.

First, I started with the best homemade hot chocolate recipe ever, which was created by Spencer's grandma. Then, I added in some "homemade" pumpkin pie spice, and oh my! The combination was divine! The hot chocolate was so smooth and velvety.

I had made two mugs, one regular hot chocolate and one pumpkin spice, and my trusty taste-tester and I sipped on both to decided which was superior.

I declared I preferred the pumpkin spice hot chocolate and took that mug. Immediately, my taste-tester, a.k.a. Spencer, said "Me too. Pour some of that spice stuff in here."

Mema's Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 ½ c.water 1½ heaping soup spoons of cocoa

1/3 c.sugar dashof salt

Boil these ingredients for 2-3 minutes. Add:

1 canevaporated milk

Regularmilk until it’s the right color

Dash ofcinnamon to taste

When hotadd ½ tsp. of vanilla

Note: I didn't have any evaporated milk, so I omitted the sugar and added sweetened condensed instead. Worked just as well.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Dash of ground allspice

Mix and store in an air-tight container.

After making the hot chocolate, just add some of the spice mix and stir. I did it to taste, and it was probably 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon per mug. Enjoy while wearing sweats and reading or watching Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth version).

Spencer's mug is the one with the flower.

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Open to Interpretation: Simple

2011-10-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

It's my favorite time again: Open to Interpretation!

(Gosh, how I love every other Thursday!)

Now that we've gone a full cycle, we decided to start doing some very special Open to Interpretations, but more on that below.

First up, Kayla's pick:

Original Source.

And my interpretation:

Shirt: thrifted, Skirt: F21 dress chopped, Belt: hand-me-down

I was hoping to recreate the fabulous colors in the inspiration by making a white skirt to go with my bright green shirt, but...it was a DIY fail.
So I went for the long-sleeved tee and maxi look instead.

Now for the special announcement: next time we will have a guest on Open to Interpretation!

A lovely blogger will be joining us on November 10th with her outfit inspiration and interpretation, and we couldn't be more excited!

Now go see Kayla's and Amy's outfits:

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Epiphanies

2011-10-26T09:41:00.000-04:00

Cardi: sweater snipped by me, Pants/Turtleneck/Booties: H&M

Why on earth did it take me so long to get into the wedgebooties trend?

Seriously, I love these shoes. I feel like I conquer the world in them, or at least be somewhat tall.

Andwith my skinny khakis rolled up? I’m not ashamed to say that I couldn’t stopstaring at my ankles/feet.

In other words, don’t be surprised if you see thispants/shoe combo again.

Also, my hair - loved it. I don’t like all my hair pulledback because my ears stick out, and Spencer doesn’t like me to pull my hairback low because “my hair looks like a helmet.” (The man channels SteelMagnolias and doesn’t even know it. I love him.) But top knot and bangs?Perfect compromise. Even better because it works great with 3-day hair.

I should probably apologize for being so vain today, but...it is a personal style blog so...can I get away with it just this once? Please!

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Confusion

2011-10-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

Pants: Anthro, Cardigan, J.Crew, Shirt: thrifted, Belt: hand-me-down

First, I dress like Christmas.

Now, I dress like spring.

I'm confused.

But thankfully, I finally pulled out all cold-weather clothes this weekend.

Maybe that will sort out the wardrobe confusion.

I love pulling out my packed away clothes.

(Non-season-appropriate clothes are in plastic buckets because hello! studio apartment!)

I always forget what items I actually own, so it's like going shopping every time I switch out my closet.

I can't help, but get thrilled at all the sweaters I will soon wear...that is until I see the laundry pile.

Do you get this excited about pulling out clothes, or is it just me?

Friday Favorites

2011-10-21T19:06:00.000-04:00

Via.

Not too many links this week. With work being so crazy, I haven't had time to surf the web.

But here are a few links for your weekend:

Coolest closet ever.

I'm gonna be hiking here tomorrow, and we will go past the Mohonk Mountain House (pictured above). Gorgeous, right? I love New York in the fall. (Last year's recap of the hike.)

A beautiful post about loving your body.

If you are terrible about writing in your journal (like me), this is the website for you.

I love this pinboard. I hope she adds more pins. (Wouldn't that be ironic.)

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Pumpkin recipe: easy pumpkin muffins

2011-10-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

I took a look at my Pinterest recipe board and realized that most of my pins had a common ingredient: pumpkin.

And since it's that time of year, I thought it would be fun to go through those pumpkin recipes (plus some old favorites) and share my favorite pumpkin treats.

First up, easy pumpkin muffins.

Via.

Taken from a friend who was doing Weight Watchers, this recipe is quick, easy, delicious and somewhat healthy (1 muffin is 1 point on Weight Watchers).

You need:

1 box of spice cake mix

1 large can of pumpkin

Mix the 2 ingredients (that's right! only 2!) together in a large bowl. Divide evenly among 12 muffin tins, and bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until muffins are cooked through.

Easy, right? Now go make some pumpkin muffins!

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Question for ya

2011-10-19T09:58:00.000-04:00

Hello friends!

I'm over at Ask the Duplex today, asking a very important question.

After all, wardrobe questions are the Most Important Questions.

So if you wouldn't mind, please pop over there and answer my Most Important Question.

And if that's not enticing enough, I reveal the most shocking thing Spencer has ever said to me.

Ooo! Sensationalism!

Red ribbon

2011-10-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

I thought I looked like Christmas.

Spencer said I looked like Audrey Hepburn.

For that comment, I will probably love him forever.

Either way, I did feel very New York in all black.

Sweater dress: Talbots, Tights: H&M, Shoes: thrifted, Necklace:???

And very grateful for that red ribbon to help me wear a sweater dress that's a bit too big.

I tried shrinking it in the dryer, but it didn't work.

I don't have the skills to sew it myself, but don't want to pay to get it tailored.

Any suggestions?

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From nothing to something

2011-10-17T13:55:00.000-04:00

Tee/cardigan/bag: H&M, Jeans: thrifted, Boots: Anouk via Gilt, Scarf: gift

This weekend was most decidedly fall.

Scarves, boots, golden leaves and baked goods all reminded me why this season is my favorite.
And then visitors, phone calls, pizza and chubby baby-cheeks catapulted this weekend from "good" to "amazing."

It's incredible how a whole lot of "nothings" can make a weekend really "something."

How was your weekend?

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Tubetop at work?

2011-10-16T11:01:00.000-04:00

You see this here tubetop? I wore it to work.

Confused? Well, if you check out my guest post on Ashley's lovely blog, you won't be.

Friday favorites

2011-10-14T09:00:00.000-04:00


Tiny octopus. Could it be any cuter? Original source.

What are you up to this weekend? We have a friend in town, so I'm looking forward to playing tour guide and having an excuse to buy all sorts of sweets (Shake Shake, Donut Plant, and more!).

Here are few interesting links to peruse:

Book sculptures left anonymously at Scottish libraries. They are beautiful, but I'm conflicted because they are tearing up books. Thoughts?

Suri Cruise's snarky burn book? Hi.lar.i.ous.

Coolest candle ever. I wonder if it works with other citrus fruits.

Forget kids, I'm making this hot chocolate for myself.

Loving all of her fall outfits, but especially this one.

Have a great weekend!

Open to Interpretation: Headscarf

2011-10-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

As the baby of the group, I was the last one to choose outfit inspiration, but finally it's my turn! And here's what I chose:

Via.

I got this outfit from a blog post titled "Fall's Eccentric Lady," which explains why I love this outfit.

I love fall. I love eccentricity. It's a win-win.

And here's my interpretation:

Skirt/blouse: thrifted, Boots: Anouk via Gilt

I kinda loved this outfit, including the crazy/heavy headscarf.

Except for the fact that I was sweating buckets in this get-up.
I guess somebody (cough, cough, October!) hasn't heard that it's fall.
And somebody decided we should have 80+ degree weather.
But I forgive October because it is the best month of the year.

Now let's go see how eccentric Kayla and Amy got!

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Dream Hair

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

As you can tell by yesterday's post, hair as been on my mind a lot lately (yeah, super deep thoughts going on in my brain). Did you know that I've always wanted straight, jet black hair? Cut super short, of course.

Like this pin:

Original source. Sorry for the slightly scandalous photo. I just love that hair.

Or if I kept my curls, then this one:

Original source.

But I'm too chicken to dye my hair or cut it that short. Or get it permanently straightened it for that matter. But if my hair could be like whatever I wanted and I could change it back whenever, I would totally get short, straight, jet black hair.

What about you? In your wildest dreams, what would you do to your hair? Keep it the same, dye it, perm it? Let me know!

Attacking the frizzies

2011-10-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Despite the best efforts of many a magazine and tv ad, I'm pretty happy with my hair. It's easy to style, grows quickly and is very thick. The one thing I do NOT love about my hair is the abundance of frizzies.

Oh the frizzies!

No matter if my hair is straight, curly, all up, all down, it's always frizzy!

But with my decision to pay more attention to my hair and years of scientific research, here are the best ways to conquer that darn frizz:

How to go from this:

Via.

to this:

First time with sea salt spray. And no frizzies!

1. Do NOT use a towel to dry your hair. Terry cloth grabs those little flyaways and makes them stand out. I use a t-shirt, and even then, I carefully squeeze the liquid out. No rubbing!

2. If you have curly hair, do NOT brush your hair. It gives you frizzies and ruins your curls. To get rid of the knots and loose hairs, just run your fingers through your hair while in the shower. It gets the job done just as well.

3. Kayla's sea salt spray. This sucker is my magic weapon (but I use sea salt instead of epsom). After hearing her rave about it for months, I decided to give it a whirl, and oh my goodness! I spray it on when my hair is wet and then style. If I'm wearing my hair curly, I still need a bit more product, but if I'm wearing my hair straight, this is all I need. Gone are the frizzies, and fantastic is my texture. I love it!

4. This blow-drying tip (point 7). I just push those little hairs under the rest while my head is tipped over, and ta-da! No frizzies!

Do you have any anti-frizz tips? I'm thinking of doing an olive oil hair treatment next, as I've heard that's really good for hair. Thoughts?

A beautiful thing

2011-10-10T11:44:00.000-04:00

Skirt/blouse: thrifted, Tights: Hue, Wedges: UO

Sunday nights are so much better when your office is closed on Monday ( Yay for Columbus Day!).

No stressing about what I have to wear, about getting up at the crack of dawn, or my least favorite thing, about making my lunch the night before.

For some inexplicable reason, making that sandwich is the most hated part of my evening ritual. Why? I have no idea.

But with my office closed, it's nbd!

Sunday night is gloriously stress-free, and then Monday is also blissful.

I can sit in my pj's, remote in on my computer, and make my sandwich the moment I'm actually going to eat it.

Mondays off are a beautiful thing, just like blue tights.

Friday Favorites

2011-10-07T10:54:00.000-04:00

Scenes from my birthday weekend. Top to bottom: vintage thongs at Brooklyn Flea Market, view from Brooklyn Bridge, and greenhouse at Bronx Botanical Garden

Here are some of my favorite things I saw out in the web this week:

Interesting discussion on tattoos. If you could get anything (with no repercussions whatsoever), what would you get?

These beautiful mountains are what I miss most about Utah.

I’m not a pet person, but I would gladly let one of theselive in my house.

I want to do this for Halloween (especially the last one).

I will definitely be putting this syrup on my next batch ofhomemade popcorn.

Also, in case you are interested:

Here’s an interview I did for Smashion

And if you saw yesterday’s post, the answer is 5’4”. I lovethat most of you thought I was taller!

Have a great Columbus weekend!

What's my height again?

2011-10-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

Blouse: thrifted, Pants: H&M, Shoes: UO

The other day, a friend asked how tall I was and upon hearing the answer, remarked that she was surprised. I guess the internet doesn't accurately portray my appearance. (big shocker there.)

But I've had a similar experience with other bloggers.

Cori, for example, is 4' 10 3/4", but I always thought she was 5'3"-ish until she stated her height. On the other extreme, Lauren is 5'10" (maybe 11?), but I had pegged her at 5'6"! (And I always thought her husband was short until I learned her actual height. Sorry, Ted!)

Which all leads to this question: how tall do you think I am?

A special prize* goes to the person who is the closest!

I'm curious what y'all think, and I love little research projects like this, so please join in.

If you want to play along, and I hope you do, leave link to your blog on your comment. Then, I, and anyone else that wants to, will guess your height!

Now guess!

*The special prize is a "yes! lol!" courtesy of yours truly.

**I will state my true height...eventually.

Little Facts

2011-10-05T10:12:00.000-04:00

Silk blouse: thrifted, Pants: Target, Shoes: Gap

Today Rebecca of Rebecca with an R asked me to join in her Little Facts series. Rebecca is hands-down one of my favorite bloggers, and I love her Little Facts! So when she asked me to join her series, a happy dance may or may not have occurred.

Speaking of which, here are my Little Facts:

Food: I could eat pizza every.single.day. and still want more.

Books: I am an avid/fast reader and have been my entire life. My personal speed record is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 4 hours (from 1 am to 5 am the night it debuted). Also, I regularly stayed up WAY past my bedtime reading by the light of my closet light and/or nightlight. My husband gets really mad at me when I do that.

Name: People frequently think my name is "America" because I introduce myself as "I'm Erica." And I talk too fast.

Yay for random facts! Now go check Rebecca's blog to see her Little Facts and to link up your own!

Unwearables

2011-10-04T10:04:00.001-04:00

I love ruffles.

Fancy ruffles via.

Casual ruffles via.

Ruffles on everything via.

Aren't they beautiful?

But for some reason, I cannot wear them!

I tried wearing this dress again (also seen here) because third time's the charm, right? Wrong!

Every time I wear ruffles, a Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde situation goes down, and I go into an anti-ruffle frenzy as I try to rip them off of my apparel.

I can't bear to have them on my person!

So as you see, sadly, ruffles are my unwearables. I love them, but I can't stand to wear them.

Do you have any unwearables? Or am I just crazy?

Thoughts on Aging

2011-10-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today I turn 24.

About a month ago, Spencer turned to me and said, "someone has a birthday coming up!" Until that moment, I had forgotten about said birthday, so when he mentioned it, freaking out obviously ensued. I spazzed about my birthday like I haven't done in years.

You see, besides slopes, I'm afraid of two things: change and growing up.
(my entire family is "mm-hmm!"ing right now.)

And 24 sounds so terribly grown up.

When I turned 20, I was all, "I'm not a teenager anymore!! I'm not a teenager anymore??"

When I turned 21, I was super pumped.
Not because of booze, but because I was engaged at that point, and getting married at 21 sounds WAY better than getting married at 20, right?

And after 21, what's 22 and 23?

But 24?

24?!?!

24 is mid-20s, which is practically late-20s, which is almost 30! So basically, I'm turning 30! AGH!

During my almost-quarter life crisis, I asked myself that inevitable question:
what have I done with my life?

I had such great dreams for my life: attend grad school, travel the world, grow 7 more inches so I can win America's Next Top Model and become the world's first modest supermodel, convert George Clooney to the church and marry him for time and all eternity, and finally, move to a big city.

I was never one to dream big.

Here is what has actually happened: I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and am slowly earning a certificate in Accounting.
I spent a semester in Spain, and during that time, I went to Portugal for a weekend. Other than that, all traveling has been confined to the US of A.
I have not grown vertically (only horizontally), so I can't be a supermodel, but I do have a viable career as an accountant.
I turned down George and chose Spencer instead. (I chose the better part.)
AND I moved to New York City.

Ok, things worked out pretty well. There were some twists , turns and sadness along the way, but I'm pretty darn happy with "what I've done with my life."

And this isn't meant to be all "look at me!" or anything. Far from it.
I hope everyone can look back and focus on the positive in their lives.
Because being alive is awesome, even when you grow up.
So celebrate yourself today as a gift to me.

Remember, as Darryl once said to Michael Scott, "You braveheart, man."
You braveheart.

'Tis the season

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

Skirt as dress: thrifted, Shoes: thrifted, Cardi: Hand-me-down

Halloween came a bit early this year.

I wasn't planning on looking like Betty Draper, but that's the reaction this outfit got from my co-workers.

And I see what they mean.

This outfit, partially because of my hair, is ultra-feminine. A little too feminine for my tastes. I liked the outfit, but the entire day I just wanted to throw on some trousers and a button-up.

Something a little less Donna Reed and a little more bad-a number-cruncher.

Like a pocket protector.

Open to Interpretation: Stripes

2011-09-29T10:00:00.000-04:00

For this week's Open to Interpretation, Amy chose this inspiration:

Original source.

And this was my interpretation:

Cardi: swapped sweater snipped by me, Dress: thrifted, Shoes: Steve Madden via DSW

Can you tell I've had too much fun with scissors lately? First this crop top, and then the above once-sweater-now-cardigan.

Scissors are basically my answer to anything that doesn't fit right. I LOVE the color and the stripes of this sweater, but it didn't do my figure any favors, so out came the scissors!

I mean seriously, aren't those stripes fabulous?

Go check out Amy's and Kayla's interpretations!

Birthday wishlist: Colored Denim

2011-09-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

After seeing this post, Spencer said to me, "You want those pants, don't you?" YES!

Cobalt blue is my favorite color, so cobalt pants?!? I die.

Original Source

But I wouldn't say no to kelly green jeans

Via.

or red ones either.

Via

I have fallen in love with the colored denim trend wholeheartedly, and there is no turning back.

What color jeans would you pick?

J.Brand 811 in cobalt blue for $176
AG Stevie Ankle in kelly green for $158
Madewell [blanknyc] in red for $88

City Scenes: Battery Park City

2011-09-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Spencer and I went on an adventure to Battery Park City and the Skyscraper Museum. I hadn't been to this part of the city yet, so I was way pumped to head down there!

Spencer being a skyscraper outside of the Skyscraper Museum.

While the Supertall! exhibit was super cool (ba-da-dum!), my favorite part was the Manhattan exhibit.

Like this model of Midtown:

"Hey, Spencer!" I said. "Can you pick out your building?"

Downtown Manhattan in 1957 on the left and downtown Manhattan in 1975 on the right.

We also saw the most secluded park I've ever seen in the city. It was so quiet that I felt like I had to talk in a whisper.

And then because no trip is complete without food, we headed over to the nexus of the universe

for knishes and

Japanese burgers.

(No, I didn't take pictures of our food. Yes, I'm a disgrace to bloggers everywhere.)

Oh, and we saw a wild turkey in the park. What the what?

DIY: Crop top

2011-09-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

What else would I do but a crop top for my next sewing-machine-less DIY? All you need are scissors and a t-shirt! To make sure I didn't mess up too badly, I marked in front and back where I wanted the hem to be, drew lines on the side to connect the two, and then snipped away.

I also snipped the sleeves and neckline and used Stitch Witchery to hem (as seen here). So easy! Not only was this my quickest white t-shirt DIY to date, but also it was a great way to be trendy without spending lots of cash.

T-shirt: made by me, Pants:H&M, Sandals:hand-me-downs

See my other white t-shirt DIYs here and here.

Shame, shame

2011-09-23T09:59:00.000-04:00

Tee: gift, Skirt/shoes: thrifted

I honestly cannot remember if I've worn this outfit before. Can you? If I haven't worn it before, shame on me for not wearing it yet! And if I have worn it before, shame on me for not remembering (or bothering to look through my archives)! Basically, shame if I did, shame if I didn't.

I loved wearing this skirt around Midtown East, which is a heavily corporate area and where I work. There is nothing like being a beacon of magenta in a sea of navy and black.

People of Midtown! There is still color in the world! And you can wear it to the office!

Oh, look! Bangs! (sorta.)

Another bun and unoriginal

2011-09-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

My new hairstyle for this week is, of course, another bun. A little more sleek than most of my other buns, this one was just as quick and easy. And it looks fabulous with my glasses, no?

All you do is put your hair in a high ponytail, create a hole in your hair, pull the pony up through the hole and pin the ends.

I made this one up all on my own! Or so I thought.

I was congratulating myself on a hairdo well-made, and then I saw this. As an avid A Cup of Jo reader, it's not surprising that I would have read this post and have it deep in my subconscious. Here are her better photographed instructions:

Image

Now excuse me while I go speak to my subconscious about coming up with original hairdos.

Birthday Wishlist: Satchels

2011-09-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

After seeing this post and especially this bag, I knew I just needed a satchel.
See, I walk to work. Which means my bag is uber important, paramount to a commuter's car. It carries my shoes, my lunch, my book(s), and my iPod with my books on tape plus all those pursey things every female needs, and finding an affordable bag big enough to hold all that while looking stylish hasn't happened just yet. My only bags large enough are either canvas, plastic or paper. Sigh. So, if I'm ever gonna be photographed by the Sartorialist or Garance, I'm gonna need me one of these:

The love-from-far satchels:

Anthropologie for $238. It's a classic look that will go with everything...except my bank account.

Anthropologie for $348 Who doesn't love red? But that price, yikes!

Zara bowling bag for $159. Maybe bowling is cooler than I thought.

The love-from-upclose category:

H&M for $34.95. Classic like the one above without the heart-stopping price tag.

H&M for $49.95. Green and affordable! Yay!

Old Navy for $18! I'll pick this over Longchamp every day.

Banana Coconut Muffins

2011-09-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Via.

I LOVE muffins, especially homemade ones, so I was sold when I saw this pin (on an unrelated note, I had some unsweetened coconut that I needed to use up). I didn't follow this recipe exactly because I already have a favorite recipe for plain muffins that comes from America's Test Kitchen. Therefore, I melded the two, and this is what I got:

Banana Coconut Muffins

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups plain nonfat yogurt (I like Trader Joe's European style)

2 large eggs

1 T vanilla

8 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 ripe bananas, smashed

2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and coat a 12-muffin tin with vegetable oil spray

2. Whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Whisk yogurt, eggs and vanilla in medium bowl. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the melted butter, then the smashed bananas and coconut flakes.

3. Evenly divide batter into 12-muffin cups. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden. Cool muffins before serving.

They were delicious! Moist, buttery, banana-y and coconut-y! I may or may not have eaten like 6 in 2 days.

Note: Feel free to increase the bananas used to 3 and coconuts to 3 cups. I didn't want a super strong banana/coconut taste and thought it was perfect as is, but Spencer wanted more coconut.

Adapted from Banana Coconut Muffins by Heather Cristo Cooks and Big Beautiful Muffins by America's Test Kitchen

This or That: Nail Polish

2011-09-19T10:03:00.002-04:00

Up until 4 months ago, I had one thing of nail polish...and it was clear (I have ovaries, I swear). Then, through crazy deals, coupons and gift bags, I now have 9 different shades, some super cheap and some fairly nice.

Which got me to wondering: does the cost of nail polish actually reflect the quality?

To figure this out, I did a little experiment. I took two different nail polishes, my H&M coral that costs $1 and my Zoya Dree that costs $8, and painted them on a nail without any base or cover. To eliminate any variables, I painted them on my most used nails (the middle finger especially. I give a lot of people the bird) and waited to see who broke first.

Not only did it take 3 coats of the $1 nail polish for it to be opaque compared to the 1 coat of the $8 polish, but also after 1 day (1 day!) the $1 polish started chipping like crazy! At the end of 3 days, the $1 polish was mostly gone, and the $8 polish hadn't even started to chip.

So $1 or $8 polish, I'll let you decided, but for me and my nails, we are wearing Zoya.

Button-up: thrifted, Skirt: swapped, Belt: hand-me-down, Boots: Anouk

Note: I was not contacted by any company or received any compensation to review the above nail polishes. All of the opinions stated are my own.

Headband and pin

2011-09-16T10:44:00.000-04:00

Remember how I said I was gonna try new hairstyles and then didn't do any? Well the first one I tried was inspired by this pin:

Original source. Her blog is gorgeous. Made me want kids real bad so I could do all her cute DIYs.

I am in love with headbands and am always searching for easy updos for short hair. This pin was definitely heaven-sent.

Here's what you do:

Tie a headband over your hair like so:

Oh hello, messy next-day curls.

And then bobby pin your hair over the headband.

And that's it! Just two short steps. I pinned just the very edges of my hair because it's short and I wanted the lower half to look full and messy.

Here's me and my new hairdo at Blogger's Night Out:

photo taken by the very talented kaitlyn

Maybe next time I'll actually made the headband as shown in the pin. But then again, let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

Open to Interpretation: Little House on the Prairie

2011-09-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

One day, I made a half-joking comment on Amy’s pin that weshould wear the same outfit, on the same day and blog about it (of course). Butthen, Kayla said that that would be fun, to take an inspirational outfit andsee what how multiple people interpreted said inspiration into their own outfits. Which led me tothink, “well, why not?”

Many emails and a few outfit photos later, and I bring youthe first post, of hopefully many, of a very exciting series called...

Kayla, Amy and I will each take turns picking inspiration,and this week Kayla chose this outfit:

And this is my interpretation:

Skirt/top: thrifted, Necklace/flats: Target

I even put light blue eyeshadow on my lower lids like the inspiration.

Kinda “Little House on the Prairie,” huh? I was going forsoft and flowy, which is what I thought of when I saw the inspiration. Do you see that in my outfit? Soft and flowy?

I had so much fun doing this because this is totally not my normal style AND I got to wear my new skirt again. win-win!

Now, go check out Kayla’s and Amy’s interpretations!

Birthday Wishlist : Wedges

2011-09-14T12:38:00.001-04:00

Nothing makes me want to go shopping like the onset of fall. Not only is it my favorite season, but also my birthday is in the fall...which means presents! For the next couple of weeks, you will get to enjoy my full-blown materialism as I blog my wishlists for the benefit of Spencer, my parents, and any kindly readers who want to buy me lots and lots of gifts. *hint, hint!*

This week's wishlist: wedges.

I know I've blogged about wedges before, but those were summer wedges. I want, no need!, closed-toe wedges, especially since I recently bought some long-leg flares and I walk too much for heels. Here's the list from desperately-want-but-never-going-to-happen to i-love-and-thankfully-they-are-sorta-affordable.

Shoesies Wedge by ModCloth for $140.99

Pura by DV by Dolce Vita for $89

Showered in Compliments in Downpour by ModCloth for $69.99

Chelsea Crew Claire Burgundy Oxford Wedges by Lulu's for $65

Sueded Desert Wedges in Tan by Old Navy for $34

Can you tell I have a thing for laces? And wouldn't those burgundy wedges look divine peeping out of my jean flares? Divine, I say!

What are your favorites?

Burned lips and colored pants

2011-09-13T09:55:00.000-04:00

Pants: Anthro, Cardi: J. Crew, Shirt: Old Navy, Shoes: Target

Writer's block.

We've all had it. Sometimes because it's been too long since we last wrote, sometimes because we've written too much, sometimes because there is just nothing worth talking about. And sometimes it's because your burned your lips and tongue while making stovetop s'mores, and you just can't think about anything else.

Utensils should come with a warning label: "If held over an open flame for the purpose of toasting a marshmallow, fork will burn you. Do not attempt to eat leftover marshmallow goop." Don't these utensil-makers know I can't be responsible for my own gluttony or stupidity? Have they learned nothing from McDonald's and their "Caution: Hot" warnings? Sheesh.

As I sit here, alternately icing my lips and typing, my mind is filled with two thoughts: "ouch" and "it was worth it."

Outfit inspired by this pin.

This or that: Elphaba or Mud Woman

2011-09-12T12:17:00.000-04:00

During a Twitter conversation with some friends about having bad skin as an adult (yeah, I thought it would end with middle school as well. or high school. or college. guess not.), Kayla sent me the link to this face mask, raving about how much she loved it. I, on the other hand, have always been a fan of mint clay masks. So why not pit them against each other?

Mint Tingle by Earth Science*

Cons: This mask is light on the mint (which is a bummer because the pleasin' odor is half the point) and heavy on the tingle. Actually, it's more of a sting than a tingle. Ouch. And I was blowing blue snot out of my nose for a couple of days. But the biggest con compared to the other mask is, although it claims to be paraben free, it's still full of chemicals, was processed in a factory, and increases my carbon footprint.

Pros: It's quick and easy. I don't have to make it, the mask goes on easy, comes off easy and only takes 10 minutes to dry. The best pro of this mask, however, was my skin the next day. Normally, my oily nose could beat Rudolph in a shiney nose contest, but not the day after using this mask. My skin was firm, and my nose was matte all day. Definitely a huge plus.

Homemade Honey Mask with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Cons: The number one con of this mask is the time. Not only do I have to make the mask myself, but it's supposed to be on your skin for 30 minutes. Much more of a time commitment. The other con came from my own stupidity. As you can see in the below photo, this mask dripped and never got firm like my clay mask. But that was because I nuked the honey to make it mixable and then forgot to let it solidify again. Whoops. Also, the application and removing of this mask was much messier than the mint mask.

Pros: The smell! Oh! the lovely aroma of honey, cinnamon and nutmeg that made me crave cinnamon rolls, or maybe apple pie, and that made Spencer unable to stop sniffing my face. And it was all natural! Pure ground nutmeg, pure ground cinnamon, and raw organic honey? No scary preservatives, harsh chemicals or unreadable ingredients here. Most importantly of all, while it didn't do quite as good of a job as the mint mask, the next day my skin was smooth and firm and my nose NOT shiney, which is fantastic.

In sum, I prefer the honey mask, but I don't always have the time to use it, in which scenario, I would turn to my mint clay mask.

Do you use facial masks? What are your favorites?

*Can be purchased at Whole Foods, but I got mine from a friend.

Day to Night (and Crazies)

2011-09-09T12:32:00.000-04:00

I rarely read fashion magazines, but when I do, my one of my favorite things to see how an outfit can go from daywear to nightwear. It just warms my lazy heart to see how small amounts of effort are all you really need to makeover an outfit. For Fashion's Night Out, I knew I would be running from work to home to FNO, so I need my own "day-to-night" look.

Here's what I came up with:

On the left is my day look: thrifted pencil skirt and blouse, gifted flats, blogger (or bedhead) bun, glasses, pink lipstick and pearl earrings.

On the right is my night look: same blouse, hair and flats (I know, flats on FNO?! Long story that involves a once broken foot). But to nightify it, I went with my Seven for All Mankind jeans, dangly pearl necklace, red bag and red lips. And of course, I put in my contacts.

While I wasn't the snazziest dresser last night (not by a long ways), but I liked this outfit because it was easy and quick.

On an unrelated note, want to hear a crazy story from last night? I was walking to meet up a friend for FNO, and this guy on the street looks me in the face and says, "Erica, boo! It is Erica, right?"

What the what! I had NO idea who he was! I still don't!

Of course, in true New Yorker fashion, I walked right by, but quickly checked to make sure I still had my wallet. Which I did. How did he know my name?!? I guess I just look like an Erica.