Dear little shamrock

I guess it should be no surprise that I am a lover of holidays, as they usually encompass two things I love: dressing up and eating delicious food. However, St. Patrick's Day isn't one I tend to go all-out for – since I'm not at all Irish and I don't drink, it doesn't do a whole lot for me. But it does give me an excuse to wear green, so I seized the opportunity to wear this Tatyana skirt (another lucky eBay score!)... even though the fans are a bit more reminiscent of Spain than Ireland.

You might've noticed my growing love for separates as of late. I still love my dresses, but I'm enjoying all the mixing and matching I can do now with my tops and skirts. I especially adore this Jailbird Top from Pinup Girl Clothing – the sleeve length keeps its sexiness from going over-the-top, and I always feel really awesome in it. I'll be a little sad when the weather gets too warm for me to wear it!

Outfit Details

Deadly Dames Jailbird Top: Pinup Girl Clothing

Tatyana Fanny Skirt in Green: eBay (available here)

Shamrock brooch: Mom's (similar)

Petticoat: Pinup Girl Clothing

Belt: from another dress

Flats: Amazon

Have a great day!

Lucky in love

I don't consider myself to be very lucky in love. I'm fortunate in many ways, but when it comes to matters of the heart, I've historically been a bit... cursed, shall we say. Maybe that's too strong a word. This isn't a "woe is me" kind of post (on the contrary, I feel sort of amused by the whole thing as I'm writing this); I've had a few rather dysfunctional relationships, a couple of bad breakups, a lot of unrequited feelings... but there's been a lot of good in there, too. I've fallen head-over-heels and have been loved hard. I've been "the other woman" and "The One." I wear my heart on my sleeve (and sometimes in purse form), and I usually listen to and follow it pretty closely. I've spent the last year or so trying to heal my little heart, and I've let myself love again, in spite of all the risks. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is one of the bravest and most beautiful things you can do, in my opinion, and I feel glad that I can be in that place again – even if it means getting hurt in the process. Our hearts are so resilient, aren't they? A couple of years ago, I don't think I would've been able to look past what I'd experienced (much less be thankful for it), but here I am: happy, hopeful, and loving myself more than ever. So maybe I am lucky, after all... lucky that I feel so deeply, and lucky to be where I am now.

Moving on to something more superficial...  I have to take a moment to say that this Tatyana dress is AMAZING. I don't think I'm doing anything fancy for Valentine's Day, but if I do anything that requires changing out of pajamas, I'll be wearing this. I was initially a little worried about how it would look on me, but I was so thrilled when I tried it on after receiving it for Christmas (thanks, Mom!). It's playful and sexy, but I still feel totally well-covered and classy in it. It also fits like a glove, which always helps. I decided to keep it fairly simple with the accessorizing (well, except for the holiday-appropriate novelty bag), but I'm already thinking of other ways I'd like to style this special dress. It's currently out of stock at Tatyana, but you can sign up for the waiting list!

Outfit Details

Shame Red Circle Dress: Tatyana Boutique

Skinnydip Lady Luck purse: ASOS

Petticoat: Pinup Girl Clothing

Shoes: ModCloth (similar)

Vintage hat: Etsy (similar)

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Perdita

Good news, friends: Erstwilder is launching some brand new designs today! I've featured Erstwilder jewelry several times on my blog before, and their quirky resin brooches have quickly become a staple in my wardrobe. They're so much fun to collect (I've compared it to having wearable Beanie Babies before), and I love the fact that the designs keep getting better – and they make such a point of enlisting the help of their customers for input in their collections. There are several new ranges being launched this season, but I was totally taken with the "A Dog's Day Out" collection – and specifically with this sweet dalmatian brooch!

Although I'm something of a cat lady these days, I've been a longtime fan of the book One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Of course, I do love the classic Disney film, but I love the fact that the book is different enough from the movie that it doesn't really affect my love for either version. The story is so endearing, and I have really fond memories of my mom reading it to me as a kid. It's also one of those books that I've read over and over (just talking about it now makes me want to read it again!). I always thought that Missis was the name of Pongo's wife in the animated movie, but I guess she actually is referred to as Perdita. The character of Perdita in the book is a totally different dog (she's a liver spotted dalmatian that the family rescues), and I always loved her storyline. I drew inspiration from both these beloved dogs and Cruella de Vil with this outfit!

Outfit Details

Ping Pong Dress: Tatyana

103rd Dalmatian brooch: c/o Erstwilder

Fur collar cardigan: vintage (Mom's)

Aerosoles pumps: available here

Ashley also decided to style one of Erstwilder's newest doggie brooches over on her own blog today (and might I say, she looks amazing in her post)! Be sure to check out all of Erstwilder's newest offerings on their website. I've definitely got my eye on a few, especially for the upcoming holidays! Let me know what you think of the new releases in the comments section!

Have a great start to your week!

Flower carts

This springy, scalloped dress from Tatyana was destined to be part of my wardrobe. It's absolutely darling, and well-made to boot. My one complaint is that Tatyana's sizing is very inconsistent, and they don't provide specific size charts for each garment they produce. I had to guess on my size, and since the dresses I tried on while visiting the Tatyana store were both larges and mediums I went with the large on a gamble. It turns out that I should have ordered the medium, because this dress runs quite big. You can't tell too much from these photos, but I want to see if I can get it taken in a bit. It's also more see-through in the top than I would have liked, but even with these flaws, I think it's still going to remain in my closet. I'm such a dress hoarder!

I'm normally a lot better at thinking of creative blog post titles, but I have to be honest: not only was it really difficult with this dress, but my brain is absolutely fried from this rehearsal process. On paper, our rehearsal hours don't look like much (typically, they've been 5 hour days with 1 day off per week), but I am physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. It's been a great experience to work with industry professionals and this kind of opportunity is really rare around here... but that being said, it's going to be a relief once it's over. I'll definitely miss being able to feel like a "real" working actor, and this has kind of lit a fire under my tush, but I also really need a break (especially since I ended up getting really dehydrated and was kinda messed up last week and this week from it). Taking care of yourself – even when you don't think you're doing anything particularly strenuous – is so important, and I certainly won't forget that any time soon! I feel like "self care" has kind of a negative connotation, but it's totally necessary.

Outfit Details

Dress: Tatyana

Belt + petticoat: eBay

Shoes: BAIT Footwear (similar)

Have a great Wednesday!

xox Sammi

PS: Have you entered my current giveaway yet?? The winner receives a $30 gift voucher to Beauxoxo! Get all the details and enter to win here.

Chamomile

Guys.  I finally figured out how to do victory rolls!  They're definitely not the best, but this was the first time I was able to create something that looked passable (every other time I've tried, I can get the first one and fail miserably at the second).  I was bummed when I realized it was raining outside, and I thought my chances of documenting this feat were ruined... but then the sun miraculously came out for the last bit of daylight!  I suppose it just goes to show that things have a way of working out in the end.

I don't wear this gorgeous dress from Tatyana very much (it's such a special piece), but one of the only good things about winter is that I can pull this out of my closet again.  The neckline is probably my favorite part.  I wore this dress last year on the blog, but my favorite styling of this dress has to be Ashley's recent post of the wiggle version!

Outfit Details

Dress: Tatyana (no longer available)

Petticoat: eBay (similar)

Tights: ModCloth (similar)

Brooch: ModCloth (similar)

Shoes: ModCloth

I spent this past weekend in New York City with my mom, and we're coming back home today.  I was glad to get out of town, even for just a few days, and we did lots of fun things!  We saw A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder with my college roommate on Friday, went shopping and saw John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (the whole reason for the trip) on Saturday, and we're meeting up with some family to have tea at Alice's Tea Cup today before we leave for the airport.  I'll have a post devoted to the trip soon, but suffice it to say that I've had a very nice last few days.  :)

Hope your weekend was wonderful, too!

xox Sammi

Swimming with the fishes

Outfit Details:

What A Catch Bra Top and Skirt: Bettie Page

Necklace: Forever 21

Octopus ring: ModCloth (free with purchase)

This outfit has been waiting in my closet since the winter to be worn.  It still isn't really warm enough to wear it yet, but I want real summer so badly that I couldn't wait any longer!  

I'd never have purchased this ring myself, but for a free gift, I'll take it!  It goes well with nautical things, so I can't really complain (except octopi kind of freak me out just a little bit, honestly).

I daringly tried to set the timer and get pictures in my creek, but it was a huge failure.  I hurt my ankle a little and almost lost my flip flop, and I got zero usable pictures, so that was a bust.  I need to recruit a photographer for something like that, and find a better spot that isn't so rocky and that doesn't have a strong current (the spot was further down the creek than this picture shows).

Hope your Monday goes swimmingly!

xox Sammi