Perfect outfit for a BIG meal

Thao and I went consignment-shopping this past weekend, where I found the perfect outfit for the holidays. Behold. . .the magical expandable tent-style dress that will accommodate big tummies after huge meals, topped off with a corduroy blazer with a leather closure. I felt slightly like a school girl with the completed outfit, but it was so comfortable!

 

 

corey lynn calter dress, Borne Jacket, UO tights & shoes

I used to be a little squeamish about used clothes (other than the ones from family members & friends). This was because I was turned off by the low quality options that were sometimes dirty and majorly overpriced in the places I did check out. However, I recently became much more open to consignment & vintage items after visiting Beacon's Closet and Buffalo Exchange, thanks to Apple. Considering that there are fashion cycles and most things, if not all, come back into fashion, I'm realizing what a great idea vintage/consignment-shopping is! Not to mention it's eco-smart. Now I'm all up for recycled clothes!

GAH! I have to go pack soon. K and I will be heading off to Taiwan later this week, then Honolulu, then onto Cali to visit my bro, sis-in-law, and their newest addition! Hopefully I'll be diligent enough to take tons of pictures and eat tons of good food. I also hope to play in my momma's closet :)

Mackage is seriously macking :)

I had never heard of the brand Mackage until I saw Lilo's winter coat this past Saturday (hopefully she'll post pictures of it). Coincidentally, Apple sent me an email the next day, with a note about how she saw some incredible Mackage coats. And they are indeed INCREDIBLE! They induced some serious drool, even from the hubby.

Image source: Mackage

K & I were in the big city this past weekend, and we took some pics - recognize the location? I just had to post this pic, in case you thought that I perhaps never went outside the house, since all my outfit pictures are in my house! By the way, yes, I was wearing that Uniqlo heat tee AGAIN :)

Jellyfish pouf

So I have this dress that I rarely wear -- I think it's a knock-off of a Max Azria dress from a small boutique in Hawaii (the tag was strategically snipped). It's a dress that makes people look preggers.

I ain't got any special events to wear this to, yet I felt like I needed to wear this dress more often, so I stacked on some layers, and wore it to work. It ended up looking like a jellyfish pouf :) You see that grey long-sleeve shirt? It's one of those Uniqlo heat tech shirts that are supposed to keep you warm. I think it works especially well when I first put it on, but I love it so much that I've worn it to work in the past 8 days. hehe hope no one noticed.

 

SILLY FAN GIRL MUSINGS: On a different note, here's some eye candy for Lilo, who likes Vanness. Now how the heck did I have an inkling that he would be Lilo's favorite (confirmed by her comment on my 12/10 post)? He's like the only member who can dance! And he seems to have a really open & easy-going personality as well. I feel like I should cover up my eyes when I look at the pic ;)

Yes, I only started to think they were adorable after recently watching Meteor Garden (I only watched the 1st & last episodes of MG2 though, because I couldn't handle the drama no more!). Can you guys guess who is my favorite? It's a close tie between 2 of them, but I think one wins out because of his improving acting skills.

Like a stern school marm. . .

I dressed like a stern school marm today. . .

Tahari blazer, Michael Kors black dress, TJMaxx belt, Uniqlo tights, Nine West shoes

I think the outfit looks similar to the basic boring outfits I used to wear for work, but I know it is an improved version because I definitely threw in more texture and details than I would have a year ago. . .like a fuschia belt, argyle tights, some sequins (on the neckline of the dress) and a tuxedo-striped blazer.

Interesting. . .those high heels are the only ones I wore for 4 years while in consulting. Man did I wear a lot of black flats during those years!

Come YouTubin w/ me

I found some gems while YouTubin. . .

PUGS ARE CRAZY
Here's a silly pug, showing off his mad skills. If only Erv could do this!




SINGIN DORK
I was searching for a soundtrack from a TV drama, and came across this. . .I almost turned it off because I thought it was going to be just another awkward amateur cover, but it is surprisingly beautiful. . .His original name was singindork, but after much prodding by others, he changed it to something else for his MySpace site (he changed it to afraidofeverest, because he's acrophobic).




I GUESS I'M JUST A SILLY FAN GIRL TOO
Uggh, I can't believe I'm saying this, and I hate to admit it, but I think F4 (now JVKV) is pretty adorable. . .



Let me go hide in shame now :p but wait! one more to redeem myself. . .


I'D RATHER DANCE WITH YOU THAN TALK WITH YOU
One of my favorites. . .just saw the video for the 1st time today though.

Boots are Sofa King Banned

Is what my hubby says. . .

hehe, did you understand the title above? If not, say the title quickly (hint - He says, no more!)

Anyways, onto my granny/ass-kicking boots in action. They don't look that intimidating afterall right :)

 

Oscar jacket from Mother-in-law, tunic & tights from. . .you guessed it - Taiwan night market!

 

Bootlicious, round 2!

MC Hammer pants are back in style, so I guess sooner or later Doc Martens would be back in action.

Did you ever wear them in high school? I never did, because I was wearing slippers all the time, or my velvet converse sneakers at school where slippers weren't allowed. Anyways, when I think of Doc Martens, I think of the guy who sat in front of us in the cello section in high school, who once turned around and said to us. . ."are you going to be my sex. . I mean stand partner?". He turned bright red after that. When we had all started orchestra together, the girls thought he was cute, but called him Rudolph because he had a red nose all the time from having a cold or allergies or something. Hm, this is slightly going down the memory lane, but when I think of that orchestra, I always think of the conductor who would sweat so much that he would bring extra shirts to change into during practice. His sweating problem was so extreme that his sweat beads would literally fly off his arms during practice. It was an advantage to suck, and sit in the back :)

Onto some Doc Martens. . .

 

 

I don't think I could work the two above. BUT, I love the one below. Apparently those colored panels are individual strips of leather so there are gaps between them. Definitely a must if I ever wore them in Hawaii, where you need a breeze circulating in your boots :)

 

Did the picture of the laces above make you drool? They sure did for me -- it's a Pavlovian response originating from Jane's (from Sea of Shoes) cool lace-up boots from Ann Demeulemeester. Check out one variation of the boot below. . .She also has a posting with pictures of the 2 boot variations that both she & her mother have.

Photo credit: Sea of Shoes

Awesome boots. I initially thought they were insane, but now I love them. They're outrageously expensive, but perhaps there will be a cheaper alternative out there soon!

Bootlicious

Boot Looks for Less. . .

Ferragamo created these lace-up boots for the Australia movie. . .they were made without zippers, in order to conform to the time period setting of the movie. It would take me like 10 min to lace those babies up! I think with my height, these babies would go above my knee. . .not a good look for shorties. I'm guessing these are >$1000.

Photo credit: AP/Ferragamo

Ta-da! I present to you. . .a more compatible pair of boots (for both my lifestyle and wallet). Yeah yeah, I know. . .they're not exactly similar. And I cheated, because I found the cheaper pair of boots first, then accidentally came across the Ferragamo ones above.

Photo credit: 6pm.com

Anyways, they're from Stuart Weitzman, which I always thought were primarily for old (rich) ladies. I guess this is not the case, since these are some "hot combat boots" (quoting Apple). I'm calling them my "hot granny/ass-kicker boots" haha. They were 75% off on 6pm.com, and I somehow managed to snap up the LAST pair. The leather is so nice & soft that I can't believe they used it on a pair of shoes. . .I'll be running away from crowds, messy kids, dogs & shopping carts, in fear of getting any scuff marks. You know how some families have those clear plastic covers on sofas, to keep them nice & new? I wonder if they make those for shoes :)

All the Basics

cardie? check!

U-neck tee? check!

black pencil skirt? check!

black tights? check!

granny boots? check!

I seem to have hit all the basics in my outfit today (well, the lace-up granny boots are stretching it a little bit, but oh wello).

 

Old Navy cardie, Uniqlo skirt & tee, Walmart tights, vintage boots from Ebay

 

Those lace-up granny boots were the best deals I've scored on Ebay to date. $23 for almost new Bally boots? Wow. . .I'm still amazed.

Moving in opposite directions. . .

K took a look at my outfit this morning, and said "Cool! Too 'out there' for the people here though". GAAH! We better not move to somewhere even boonier than here!

Me & Erv moving in opposite directions. . .

BR cardigan, tneck & tights from TJMaxx, Uniqlo skirt, UO boots

 

K tried to take pics of me without the flash. Check out this haunting picture. . .it reminds me of an image that you may see in a dream. or maybe a scary movie.

On a note related to my outfit, Apple and I had roughly 20 minutes to run around Uniqlo like crazy women before we had to go to dinner at the Mercer Kitchen last Saturday in the big Apple. I somehow ended up finding 2 skirts, a pair of tights, and a tee at a good bargain during this quickie shopping session. . .

By the way -- that night I learned a lesson that will hopefully remain with me forever. DON'T BE A CHEAPASS WHEN EATING AT GOOD RESTAURANTS IN BIG CITIES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE IN THE BOONIES!! One of my biggest dumbass moments in life was ordering a stupid cheeseburger at Mercer Kitchen because I was feeling a little stingy (and I had a glimmer of hope that maybe Jean-Georges has some kind of super unique recipe for cheeseburgers. But really, that's no excuse). We ended up splitting the check evenly between our group of 8. Grrr, I think I took home the DUMBASS award for the night.

Looks for less. . .LAMB peeptoe booties

I'm always fascinated by those "looks for less" shopping postings, where bloggers showcase (relatively) cheap alternatives to insanely expensive items.

 

Anyhow, here's my first one.

 

 

 

Can you tell which is the real deal? The grey ones are from Bakers, yellow ones are LAMB. . .I know there are folks out there who think you should get the real deal because they're better quality, but I'm sure those >4 inch heels will be hell (at least for a klutz like me) regardless of whether they cost >$300, or ~$75. Not to mention my upper price point/ceiling currently hovers around $120 for shoes - maybe the ceiling will get pushed up soon haha, especially since I'm now venturing beyond the old habit of wearing the same boring black work shoes basically everyday.

After looking at the 2 versions closely, I actually prefer the Bakers, because it doesn't have scales/scallops on the back. I can't imagine what I would do if all those little scales ever curl up. I'm already having issues with the ~6 long fringes that stick up on my black booties from UO - I need some doublesided tape or rubber cement to tame those fringes! I should take a pic of how they have been ridiculously sticking out :)

Turkey Weekend Recap

The HILLY BILLIES go to NY!

. . .to visit K's hipster (more on that later) sister, Apple, in the big Apple (haha). . .

. . .to eat good food, such as these sushi bombs from BOZU. . .

. . .to see Apple's boyfriend, who drew ERV in his super hero cape (and with his super sprinkler nose). . .

. . .to see Apple's shoe parade (I'm still impressed that black shoes only comprise a small percentage of her whole collection. can you spot the 3 shoes we share in common?). . .

. . .and boot parade. . .

. . .and her super old Candies and other ancient shoes which pretty much deserve a parade of their own. . .

. . .and to take pictures of ourselves in mirrors at the MOMA. . .

 

I'm kicking myself right now for not taking more outfit photos- I really should have taken pictures of other people, but I was too shy to tell them why I wanted to take pics of them. . .

Baglovin

here's a quickie from a sickie!

while packing for our NY trip, I realized I need bigger bags! I've held off on buying big bags for a couple years now, since that is usually what I gravitate to. I'm a self-proclaimed bag lady and I would pack a whole meal in my bag if I could, in addition to an umbrella, jacket or scarf/blankie. Anyways, I ended up using this really old messenger bag I've had since I was 18 (damn, that was long ago).

So I'm now officially off the "Big bag ban", and am lusting over these (Sherlock and Esme bags from Jenny Yuen). . .

(images from the Jenny Yuen online store)

I'm on a black bag ban now (what's up with the "bbb"s?). By the way, I'm still kicking myself for not taking advantage of the Luna Boston 40% off sale on black friday -- I miraculously woke up on time for the sale, and yet did not take advantage because I was feeling stingy. sniff sniff. . .what the hell was I thinking?

I'm too lazy to post any further today since I'm sick at home, but I'll definitely post more on the Thanksgiving NY trip, as well as what kept me occupied last week :)

Grey in the lead

I had claimed that blue was my favorite color. However, I need to face up to the facts, and confess that grey is actually my true love :)

When I shop at TJMaxx/Marshalls/Loehmanns, I always keep an eye out for a unique leather jacket at a reasonable price (~130 would be my price point). Though I have yet to find a fashionable one I am willing to shell out $ for, I figured I can dream about finding some similar to the ones below.

dresses in grey. . .the right one is similar to something mrs. beckham wore. I guess that means it's pretty formfitting - eck, probably not comfortable :)

purses in grey. . .I think the 1st one is actually purple, but it looks grey to me :) I really want to touch the last one - it looks so soft.

shoes in grey . . . the first one has built-in socks! I wonder how they'll stay up through time though - may take tons of starch. . .

for Thao. . .purple stuff! they look so lucious - yum.

and for Lilo. . .the necklace below is from Disney couture! I love it!

. . .all items above are from asos.com. . .