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 :)

The Sandman

Hey girls, sorry this is my first outfit post this week because of two reasons: 1) I was sick earlier this week - so I didn't feel like much except sleeping after work, and 2) last weekend I bought a new pair of shoes that are really cute except when I wore them out I tripped twice and sprained my ankle (kinda ironic because they were only 1 inch heels...whereas I'm fine in my 4 inch pumps today).

Today's outfit is a blast from the past. Shasha, do you recognize this red skirt? I wore it so often back in college...and after all these years, I'm finally bringing it out again.

 
Outfit: BR coat & vest, JCrew skirt, Brooks Brothers shirt, striped tights (though hard to see)

And here's a picture of Lilo and me at work...though this actually isn't either of our offices, but we thought it would provide a good idea of our work environment.
                     

Also, I completed my collection of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman graphic novels. Squee! I always get a thrill when I complete a series...and these Absolute Sandman volumes are so beautifully designed.

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!

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!

 

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.

Looks for less...Tiffany & Co. necklace

Ok, so today's outfit was super boring...dark blue and blah because it was grey and rainy in the city. But, the real reason for this post is to show one of my necklaces from today.

I found the exact garnet beads and made the above necklace after seeing the one from below at Tiffany's for over $1K. Mine was only $20!

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.

Cream Puffs

I learned how to make cream puffs this past weekend...much harder than I imagined! They sort of deflated after I took them out from the oven, but still yummy :)

Have I shown you guys my new ring? Thanks to LBC, I got this cute little John Hardy:

                          

I've been eyeing this Hype tote...what do you guys think? Too orange? Would this color last over the seasons or is it too trendy?

                               

Today's outfit:

Outfit: grey dress (Gap), belt (H&M), jacket (Old Navy), shoes (Circa Joan & David)

Rambutans

One of my favorite fruits is the Rambutan, in Vietnamese we call them Chom Chom. We bought some today, aren't they pretty?

      

Here's the outfit I wore...it was so cold this morning!

                   
                   

Morning Light

I'm trying to experiment with the camera, so you guys might be seeing some weirder photos.

 

Outfit: BCBG skirt (mauve), Ann Taylor Loft blouse (rose)

2 misses

I found a winner, I found a winner, I found a weiner. . .(or so I thought)

I must have been on crack or something. . .on Tuesday night, I tried to find options to make this frilly f21 dress work in the winter, and was so excited when I settled on the final look. However, when I put it on to go to work the next day, I ended up feeling a little silly. . .and instead swapped the dress for a more demure BR one, with rounded toe pumps.

Anyways, onto the details of my original wackier outfit captured in the pics below. I love this f21 dress, but man does it love to showcase my belly pooch! my momma saw me try that dress on, and told me to go get some granny fat-banishing panties. to add salt to the injury, there's this big iron/starch mark right smack in the middle of the belly section. I can't believe I was so blind that I didn't see it while at the store -- the ruffles must have distracted me. anyhow, the sweater is from AE, and I doubled up on the tights (crochet tights over grey ones).

I was so excited about this outfit (I told you I must have been on crack or something!) on Tuesday night that I happily and lightly stomped around the house, singing "I found a winner. . .I found a winner. . ." which somehow morphed into "I found a weiner. . .I found a weiner. . ." maybe it was my hawaiian/fobby accent coming out, who knows!

What not to wear . . .BIG thumbs down!

I should not have even bothered with this outfit, but I thought I would give it a go -- it was raining cats & dogs and no one would notice my outfit anyways.

- 6 year old grey pants from Express. HORRIBLE fit around the belly area, and it is too short even with the lowest heels. Unfortunately, I have another pair of these, in beige. I knew long ago that they had to go, but I tried to make it work today. It's officially leaving my closet!

- cropped trench-style jacket. I must have been mesmerized by the price, because this jacket doesn't look good on me. it's a little bit too cropped, the shoulder pads are too obvious, etc. I tried to pawn it off on my momma since she's much shorter and it wouldn't look cropped on her, but it was rejected without even being tried on! maybe I'll try again in Dec when I see her.

- only part of my outfit I'm keeping is my trusty blue 8 year old jcrew sweater. not a perfect fit either, but I'll hold onto it. . .

I felt like a dork the whole day!

side note. . .the Ervster somehow understands what I'm doing now when I whip out the camera. He now tries to crash my pictures, and even looks at the camera waiting for it to go off. what a camera hog ;)

Lunch Together

Lilo and I went to lunch at Chef Liu's today. She thought her outfit was weird, but I think it's really cute! Sorry for the bad picture, it's from my phone camera.

Lilo's outfit: Old Navy dress, Rampage bag, dunno about sweater.
Thao's outfit: Ann Taylor sweater & pants, Target blouse, Botkier Sasha.

And on my way home tonight, I heard this new song, Love Lockdown, from Kanye...love it!

ROY G. BIV without the O&V

I almost hit all the colors of the Roy G. Biv spectrum today.

the belt sat in my car glove compartment for months before I finally went to get extra holes punched. . .

the shirt I got for $11 bucks at GAP, but for some reason I got it in a size too big. probably because I was being an extreme cheap-o and planning ahead for any shrinkage or extra fat padding during the winter months.

the blue wool pants have lived in my closet for the past 4 years. again, too big, but I was being a cheap-o and planning ahead (I know - I'm so weird!). or, maybe I get stuff too big because I hate being uncomfortable after a big meal of chicken wings. anyways, I was so excited when I found them because the brand is the same as hubby's last name, except with a Q. . .

 

BONUS POINTS!!! Though I have had this vintage bracelet for at least 5 years, I wore it for the first time today. It was my momma's momma's.